Harry Slithers in: Prisoner of Azkaban
by Dragonson
Summary: A mass murderer has escaped from Azkaban. But that isn't the worst problem Harry Potter has to face. Aunt Marge is coming for a visit, and is arriving on Harry's birthday. And what's with the huge black dog that keeps on showing up wherever Harry is? Harry's third year in Slytherin. Disclaimer: I am not J K Rowling and I do not own Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 1: The Escaped Mass Murderer and Marge**

It was the morning of Harry's 13th birthday. During the night a flock of owls had arrived at his bedroom window. Fortunately he had been up finishing some of his holiday assignments when they had arrived. He had received birthday presents from Daphne, Theo, Blaise, Draco and even one from the Weasley family. Apparently they felt he deserved something special for the help he had given them during the school year with regard to Ginny.

It was the last letter, sent from Hogwarts and containing his new book list, that had given him the most reason for thought. It contained a form that the Dursleys would need to sign if he was to be allowed to visit Hogsmeade village. He seriously doubted that either Vernon or Petunia would allow him to do something enjoyable and he was wondering if he should contact Mrs. Davis, a Ministry of Magic official who worked in the Ministry's Child Welfare Office and who also happened to be the mother of his girlfriend Tracey, to ask her to force the Dursleys into signing it.

Thinking about it as he went to sleep he still hadn't decided if that was what he wanted to do and even when he awoke the next morning he still hadn't decided. He got up, dressed and went to the kitchen where the Dursleys greeted him with his usual birthday cheer; "Make the toast, boy."

"Yes, uncle Vernon," Harry mumbled.

The dining room featured a brand new TV that the Dursleys had bought for Dudley as a welcome home gift. On it was a news story about an escaped prisoner. The picture showed a gaunt figure with hollow, sunken eyes and a mass of unkempt black hair. Harry listened as the reporter described him.

"We remind our viewers that Black is extremely dangerous and is believed to have access to a firearm. He should not be approached under any circumstance and any sighting should be immediately reported to your local police or you can ring the hotline." Across the bottom of the screen was displayed a phone number.

"In other news…"

"Hang on," Vernon shouted over the TV, "you never told us where this maniac escaped from. For all we know he could be walking up the street right now."

As he spoke Petunia looked out the window as if expecting to see him. Harry knew she would be delighted to be the first person to see him and thus claim the reward.

With the end of the news broadcast Vernon turned to the room. "Marge's train is arriving at 10 o'clock and she will be staying for a week."

"Aunt Marge is coming to stay," Harry said in a startled voice.

"That's right," Vernon said, glaring at Harry. "And while she is here you will keep a civil tongue at all times. She doesn't know about your 'abnormality' and you are not to go do anything freakish while she is here. Understand?"

"Yes, uncle Vernon," Harry replied.

"We have told her attend St. Brutus' school for Incurably Criminal Boys and that is what you will say if she asks you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, uncle Vernon."

"Good. Now go clean yourself up." He turned to Dudley. "Dudley, would you like to come with me to pick up Marge?"

"No thank you," Dudley replied as he turned back to the TV.

As Vernon got up to leave a thought occurred to Harry. Finishing his toast he got up to follow Vernon who noticed him immediately.

"Don't think I'm taking you to meet Marge, boy."

"As if I want to go," Harry muttered.

"Then got lost."

"Uncle Vernon, third years at my school are allowed to visit the nearby village on certain weekends. I have a form that my guardian needs to sign to allow me to go on these visits and it will be difficult to remember the name of that school you send me to…"

"You will remember it or else," Vernon snarled.

"But if I accidentally say the wrong thing…"

"If you do I'll thrash the daylights out of you," Vernon threatened while making a fist.

"But that won't change the fact it happened. If you sign my form I will promise I will behave while Marge is here."

Vernon thought it over before finally saying, "Very well, I shall monitor your behaviour during Marge's visit and if, at the end, I am satisfied with your behaviour I shall sign that ruddy form."

"Thank you," Harry replied.

As Vernon pulled out of the drive way Petunia made Harry mow the lawns, threatening that if they weren't finished when Marge arrived he wouldn't get any lunch. In fact Harry had only just got the mower out of the shed when Mrs. Davis arrived.

"Good morning, Harry. Isn't it your birthday?"

"Good morning Mrs. Davis. Yes it is; not that it makes any difference to the Dursleys'", he replied.

"I see. Well, in that case I think I should have a word with them," Mrs. Davis replied.

Harry let her into the house. When Petunia saw her she shrieked, "What are you doing here?"

"In case you've forgotten it is Harry's birthday today. I am here to personally deliver Harry's present from my daughter. I'm glad I came too considering you clearly have forgotten that fact," Mrs. Davis replied in a pleasant voice.

Petunia huffed and returned to the kitchen. Mrs. Davis turned to Harry and gave him a large parcel. "Happy birthday, Harry," she said.

"Thank you Mrs. Davis, and can you pass on my thanks to Tracey as well?"

"Of course. How are they treating you?"

"Same as always," Harry replied. "Only Uncle Vernon's sister is coming today and she even worse. She treats me like a slave."

Mrs. Davis looked particularly annoyed with this. "Unfortunately I can't do anything more for you at the moment. I don't know if you've heard yet but Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban yesterday…"

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted, "That escaped murderer on the muggle news is a wizard?"

"Ah, you have heard part of the story then. Yes, he is a wizard, in fact he was one of You-know-who's most loyal followers. He murdered 13 people with one curse a few days after you defeated him."

Harry was shocked. "One curse, and he killed 13 people?" he whispered.

"Yes. It's because he is so dangerous that I am unable to arrange alternative accommodation for you at the moment. All of us at the Ministry have been seconded to process information on his whereabouts which means long hours and very little time to relax or even do our regular jobs. I am afraid you'll just have to do your best until probably the last week of the holidays."

"Wouldn't I be safer somewhere there are wizards?" Harry asked. "I mean, if Black can kill 13 people at one time I doubt any muggles would stand a chance against him."

Mrs. Davis sighed. "I asked that exact same question but Albus Dumbledore said you would be safe here. I don't know if you're aware of this but this house is protected by magic and this magic is specially tuned to block anyone who possesses the Dark Mark from coming within 100 yards of this place. We found that out last year when Lucius Malfoy tried to visit you after his family elf was caught stealing your mail."

"What is the Dark Mark?" Harry asked.

"It's You-know-who's symbol. It's like a tattoo in that it is burned into the skin his followers. Apparently it also acts as a way for him to summon them."

"And Mr. Malfoy has the mark?"

"He claims he was bewitched to do You-know-who's bidding but many people don't believe him. However, he was able to convince the Wizengamot of this at his trial. The Wizengamot is wizarding worlds' highest court, by the way," Mrs. Davis explained.

"I know there are house elves at Hogwarts, is the Malfoy's elf the same?"

"Yes, although the Malfoy's elf is apparently something of a rogue; he wants to be free whereas most house elves are happy working for their master."

Harry thanked Mrs. Davis once again for the present and the information about Black and the other things they had discussed before she left. Rather than do the lawns Harry took his present up to his room and unwrapped it. Inside he found a large box of chocolates and a small book about the hidden meanings of numbers. It was clearly a muggle book but it would still be an interesting read.

Later, when Vernon returned with Marge Harry found himself having carry her huge suitcase up the stairs to the spare room. When he came down stairs again he heard Petunia telling Vernon about Mrs. Davis' visit.

"I told the boy to do the lawns but then his 'social worker' turned up," Petunia said.

"Not that Davis woman?" Vernon growled.

"Yes, that's the one."

"What's this about a social worker?" Marge bellowed.

"Just some woman who is assigned to his case. You know how he is an incurable criminal. She is supposed to keep an eye on him outside school," Vernon explained.

Over the course of the next week Harry tried hard to behave himself. In the excitement about Mrs. Davis' visit he had for gotten to ask her to put pressure on the Dursleys to sign his Hogsmeade visit form and now he had to behave himself if he wanted to be allowed to go. Everything was going well until the last night of her stay, when everything went wrong.

Over the week the level of Harry's frustration had been building up. At dinner on the last day of Marge's stay, when there was a large amount of alcohol being splashed around, Marge started on about how Harry's parents were no-good layabouts who never did a day's work in their lives. This was finally too much for Harry and he snapped at her, "My Parents were not lazy!" he shouted.

"More Brandy," Vernon said just as loudly.

"No need, Vernon," Marge began. She turned to Harry. "So, you liked your parents did you?"

"Yes, even though I hardly remember them, they were my parents."

"So you like the fact they got drunk and were then killed while driving?"

"They didn't die in an accident," Harry snarled.

"Yes they did," Vernon shouted. "That's what we told you and that's what happened."

"Liar!" Harry shouted.

"How dare you accuse your uncle of lying you ungrateful little…" Marge began but then she stopped.

At first Harry thought she was imply lost for words. Then he realised she was swelling, puffing up like a balloon being inflated. Several buttons burst off her waistcoat and pinged around the room. Ripper, Marge's pet bulldog, started barking madly as Marge floated out of her chair. Vernon grabbed her and Ripper bit Vernon. Petunia shrieked and Dudley stared wildly around the room as Harry ran for the door.

When he reached his room Harry grabbed everything he owned and threw it all into his trunk. He then dragged it down the stairs where Vernon met him.

"You put her right this instant," Vernon bellowed.

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Vernon. "She got what she deserved, now get out of my way." Harry didn't say it loudly but every word was clearly audible.

Vernon took a step back. Harry ran past him and out into the night.

Several minutes later, once the worst of his anger had subsided, Harry found himself several blocks away from Privet Drive. He sat down on a low wall and thought about what had happened. He knew he was in serious trouble. As an underage wizard he was banned from using magic outside of school but he just turned his muggle aunt into a balloon. That was a serious bit of magic. Even though he guessed the Ministry of Magic would reverse is spell and repair any damage he wondered what would happen to him. Would he be expelled?

Movement in a nearby alley caught his attention. His wand was still in his hand so he pointed it at the alley and said "Lumos."

The beam from the wand fell on the largest dog he had ever seen. It was a huge, jet black animal with empty looking eyes that stood there, staring at him. Harry stepped back, tripped over his trunk and fell into the street. He threw his wand hand out to break his fall, dropping his wand when his hand hit the ground. Suddenly the whole street was bathed in bright, white light. He grabbed his wand rolled away just in time to avoid being run over by an enormous, purple three decker bus as it pulled into the kerb next to him.

A young man with many pimples stepped out of the bus and said, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor tonight."

 **Author's Note:** Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the Slytherin student's boggart should be. I already have ideas for Draco and Tracey but would appreciate suggestions for the others. Either post your reply in a review or as a PM. Any suggestion received before 8pm on Wednesday 10 August NZ time will be considered and I will credit anybody whose suggestion I use in an Author's Note.


	2. 2 Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 2: Diagon Alley**

Stan looked up and, seeing no-one, started looking around. It was only when Harry went to stand up that the conductor noticed him.

"'Shoo doin' down there?" he asked.

"I fell over," Harry replied, feeling annoyed.

"Why'd you fall over?"

Harry glanced back at the alley which was now bathed in the buses' headlights. There was no sign of a dog. He turned back to the conductor and, ignoring the last question, asked "Can this bus take me to Diagon Alley?"

"It can take yer anywhere you like, so long as it's on land," Stan replied.

Harry pulled his money pouch out of his trunk. "How much?"

Stan told him the fares and Harry decided on hot chocolate for the journey. With Stan's help I lifted his trunk onto the bus and went to find a seat only to discover there were only beds on the bus.

"Here, I'll give yer the one right behind the driver," Stan said. "Was' yer name by the way?"

Harry thought quickly and said "Blaise Zabini."

Stan turned to the driver, an elderly wizard with thick glasses, and said "Ern' this' Blaise Zabini an' he wants to go to Diagon Alley."

"Ar," the driver, Ernie, replied.

Harry chose to sit on the bed rather than lie down but as soon as the bus started moving he was thrown to the floor as the bus jumped to a totally different location. Stan explained this was where they were before Harry summoned them stating that it was somewhere in North Wales.

Several jumps later Harry gave up on trying to drink his hot chocolate. Every time the bus jumped he spilt more of the drink than what actually got into his mouth.

Several hours later the bus pulled up outside the Leaky Cauldron and Harry was relieved to be able to get off. He turned to collect his trunk when a voice spoke right behind him. "There you are Harry."

Harry turned around sharply and saw a portly man wearing a travelling cloak and a lime green bowler hat. He knew straight away this was a wizard and someone who had clearly been sent to find him. He knew he was in trouble.

"What did you say to Blaise 'ere, Minister?" Stan asked.

"Blaise?" the man said, sounding confused. "This is Harry Potter."

"The Harry Potter?" Stan said in a shocked voice.

The man looked annoyed. Instead of replying he took hold of Harry's shoulder and steered him into the Leaky Cauldron where the Barman, Tom, said, "You've got him then Minister? I've got a private room all ready for you." Behind them Stan and Ernie were carrying Harry's trunk inside. They left it on the floor and, after a last look at Harry, left the room.

Harry knew he was in a lot of trouble. Everybody was addressing the man as Minister and Harry doubted they meant a church minister. Tom showed them into a private room off the main bar and pointed Harry to a seat in front of it before leaving the room. The Minister walked around the table and sat on the other side before indicating Harry should sit also.

"Now then Harry, I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and I must say you've had us very worried tonight, running away from your uncle and aunt like that. You will be pleased to know that we have managed to deflate your aunt and modified her memory so she will have no recollection of what happened. All that remains now is to decide where you will spend the remainder of the holidays. I would suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron. I'm sure Tom can find a suitable room for you for the next three weeks."

"Hang on, sir," Harry said feeling extremely confused. "What about my punishment?"

"Punishment?" Fudge asked. "Surely you don't want to be punished, do you?"

"No, but I used magic out of school and against a muggle. Isn't that against the law? Shouldn't I be facing some punishment? Even expulsion?"

There was a knock on the door. Tom came in carrying a pot of tea and crumpets which he placed on the table before saying, "I've taken Mr. Potter's belongings to room 11, Minister. Everything will be ready for him as soon as you finish here."

"Thank you, Tom," Fudge said as Tom left.

Fudge poured himself a cup of tea and helped himself to a crumpet. "Eat up, Harry. You look half starved. As to your question we don't expel students for such minor matters as blowing someone up, especially when it is in self-defence. According to the staff we sent to your home you were being threatened at the time. Although we would have preferred you to not run away I think that, in the circumstances, we can let this go."

Harry was very confused but decided to accept the situation. "Thank you, sir," he said as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"Well, that's all settled then," said Fudge. "There is just one thing, Harry. You are not to go into muggle London. You are free to go anywhere in Diagon Alley, however. How does that sound?"

"Of course, sir. I promise," Harry replied.

Fudge finished his tea. "I had best be off. Lots to do of course," he said in a cheerful voice.

After Fudge had left Tom returned. "When you're ready I'll take you to your room, Mr. Potter. I daresay you're rather tired."

Harry finished his tea and followed Tom up to his new room.

When he woke up a little after midday Harry began wondering why he had not been punished. He remembered now that Fudge was the Minister of Magic, the highest position in the wizarding government, which made the fact that he had met him even more surprising. Surely the Minister of Magic didn't concern himself with underage magic.

As he entered the bar, however, all thoughts of the strange behaviour from the Minister vanished. Waiting for him at the bar was Tracey Davis and as soon as he entered she jumped to her feet and ran to him. "Harry, you idiot. Did you forget what my mother told you? Black murdered 13 people with one curse but he cannot reach you at Privet Drive. You were safe there and you should have stayed there," she said.

Taken aback, Harry fumbled with his words before finally saying, "I couldn't stay there. Uncle Vernon would have killed me for what I did to his sister."

"I doubt that," Tracey said. "I'm sure he would have been angry and would have probably grounded you but he wouldn't kill you."

"It's only an expression," Harry tried to explain. "Believe me, I'm much better off here."

It was several awkward minutes later that Harry was able to make it the bar and ask for lunch. After he had eaten he and Tracey went into Diagon Alley. While they were sitting outside Fortescue's ice-cream parlour Tracey talked about her holiday. Apparently she had a new half-brother who had been born late in June and, because of this, she hadn't stayed at her father's like she and Robert usually did for the first month of the holidays.

Harry listened politely. He knew very little about Tracey's father other than the fact he was a muggle and that he had left the family when Robert received his Hogwarts letter. He knew he had remarried but that was the limit of his knowledge. Now he learnt that Tracey had a half-sister as well, who was 4 years old. Tracey also said Robert had passed eight of his nine Owl exams, failing only in History of Magic. Of his eight passes four were Exceeds Expectations (Ancient Runes, Charms, Potions and Transfigurations) and the rest were Acceptable.

Later that afternoon they returned to the Leaky Cauldron and Tracey flooed back home, promising they would meet again once the booklists came out.

About a week later, when the booklists arrived, Harry sent a letter to Tracey asking when she would be coming into Diagon Alley. Her reply said she would be there 30 August. In the meantime Harry was spending part of almost every day wandering around the shops. During this time he met many of his fellow students but it was one particular meeting that stood out.

Draco Malfoy came with his parents but once they had been to the bank they separated. Draco knew Harry was staying at the Leaky Cauldron and sought him out there.

"Hey, Potter. Well done, by the way, blowing up that muggle," he said.

"That was an accident," Harry replied. "Marge Dursley is just a mean, nasty person and I had simply had enough of her. All I meant to do was tell her off but I lost control."

"Accident or not, it was still funny hearing about it. So, how was it that you didn't get punished?"

"No idea. Minister Fudge said it was because I was acting in self-defence but wouldn't say any more," Harry replied.

"I wish I could get away with that." Draco said. "Anyway, did you hear about the Weasleys?"

"No. What happened?"

"They won a load of money in the Daily Prophet's sweepstakes." Malfoy sounded disgusted.

"Well, good luck to them."

Malfoy snorted. "Guess what they did? They spent the lot on a holiday to Egypt. If any of them had any common sense they would have saved the money and spent it on something useful."

Harry had to agree. The Weasleys weren't wealthy so the smart thing to do would have been to save the money rather than waste it on a holiday.

Harry and Draco spent most of the afternoon together. Harry showed Draco the new Firebolt racing broom that had just come out and added that he had heard the Irish National Quidditch team had bought a full set for their team and they were now favourites for the World Cup.

After Quidditch Harry asked, "What is the name of the house elf that took my mail last year?"

"Dobby," Draco replied. "He has been punished, it won't happen again. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you considered dismissing him. Isn't that normal for a house elf who misbehaves?"

"Some people would do that," Draco admitted. "Father prefers to punish by cutting privileges, though. He does that for me as well."

"He treats you the same way he treats a servant?" Harry asked, sounding surprised.

Draco was about to say something but seemed to change his mind. After a while he said, "Putting it that way that is what it sounds like. I think I'll ask him about it."

After that Harry went with Draco to Flourish and Blotts. Draco was buying his school supplies and Harry told him he was waiting for Tracey so they could shop together. When Draco said he wanted the Monster Book of Monsters the attendant said, "Not another one." He then donned a pair of thick leather gloves and approached a cage containing dozens of copies of the book. Harry wondered why they were in a cage but his question was answered before he could ask it. As soon as the attendant opened the cage several of the books attacked him, trying to bite him and, when that failed, they began attacking each other. The attendant hit several with a long stick before finally managed to extract one; the whole time saying, "Never again."

The book was forced inside a tight paper bag and tied with thick string. Harry was now very glad he wasn't taking Care of Magical Creatures whereas Draco seemed to be wondering if it was too late to change his selections.

After Draco left for home Harry returned to his room and reviewed his holiday assignments. He had by now finished all of them and was waiting to catch up with Tracey to compare notes. He was just making sure he hadn't made any silly mistakes first. Once satisfied he put them away and relaxed.

 **Author's Note:** Reviews and boggart suggestions would be appreciated. (Currently one review and zero suggestions.)


	3. 3 The Dementor on the Train

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 3: The Dementor on the Train**

Harry was having breakfast when the fireplace flared into life. First to step out was Robert Davis, closely followed by Tracey and then their mother. Janet Davis immediately approached Harry and sat down. "Good morning, Harry. All ready to get your books and things?"

"As soon as I finish breakfast," he replied.

"Before we leave I hope you realise how lucky you were about blowing up your aunt. At the very least you should have received a written warning and, in fact, you probably should have faced an inquiry into your actions."

"I know," Harry replied. "There are a number of things I don't understand. Firstly, why was the Minister of Magic involved? Surely he has more important things to do than bother with underage magic?"

"Yes. Well, there is a reason for that but this is not the place to discuss such matters. Once we have finished shopping I will send Robert and Tracey back home while we will discuss that in private. For now, let's just say it involves Sirius Black. As you know he is extremely dangerous and we were all worried when you ran off, in case Black found you first."

Harry didn't really understand what she meant but he guessed it had something to do with his defeat of Voldemort. Black was, after all, one of his most loyal followers.

Harry and Tracey spent the morning together. Harry told her about Malfoy and the text book for Care of Magical Creatures to which Tracey replied it must be a new book. The old book had nothing like that in it.

After purchasing their new books, parchment and quills they returned to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Next it was back into the Alley to finish their shopping and enjoy the sunny weather.

As evening approached Harry joined the Davis' for a meal. After the meal Mrs. Davis sent her children home saying she would join them after talking to Harry about something of importance. Back in Harry's room she explained exactly what was going on.

"Harry, I am about to tell you something that the Ministry doesn't want you to know. I feel that, since it concerns you, you have a right to know it, however."

She looked around the room, apparently trying to find any evidence of eaves-droppers before continuing. "We think Sirius Black may have escaped from Azkaban specifically to come after you."

Harry was startled to hear that. "Why would Black want to come after me?"

"You know Black was a loyal supporter of You-Know-Who. What no-one has told you is that he was also a close friend of your parents. In fact your father regarded Black as his best friend and trusted him more than anyone else. When your parents learnt that You-Know-Who was going to target them they decided on going into hiding under the Fidelius charm."

"What is the Fidelius charm?" Harry asked.

"It is a very complex spell that allows someone to hide information about the whereabouts of another person within their soul. Nobody can gain access to that information unless the secret keeper, that's the person who carries the information, chooses to reveal it. According to what Albus Dumbledore said recently Sirius Black was your parents' secret keeper, meaning he is the one who betrayed them to You-Know-Who."

"Sirius Black betrayed my parents?"

"It appears so, yes. The theory is he escaped from Azkaban specifically to kill you."

"Why would he want to kill me?" Harry asked, feeling frightened.

"The assumption is he thinks that if he kills you then You-Know-Who can return. Before you start getting too worried, Harry, I knew your parents and Black when they were at school. Not very well, of course, they were Gryffindors and in a different year to me but they did have something of a reputation in the school as troublemakers. They called themselves the Marauders and they were intensely loyal to each other and I think it unlikely Black would betray them, but the evidence does point to that. I want you to be very careful. I know Tracey worries about you at lot, as do I, and I want you to be safe. Unfortunately, that means you will probably find yourself being closely watched by the Hogwarts staff so sneaking off to the kitchens is probably out now."

"The Dursleys didn't sign my Hogwarts permission slip," Harry said. "Do you think you could sign it on their behalf?"

"No," Mrs. Davis replied. "I know this will be hard for you but I think not having a signed permission form might be a good thing. You would be much more vulnerable in Hogsmeade than in Hogwarts and your safety is a very high priority for many people."

Harry couldn't help feeling very disappointed. He bade Mrs. Davis farewell before going down to the bar for food which he took back to his room. He thought he would rather be alone than in a crowd at the moment.

The next day was the last day of the holidays. On his one and only visit to Diagon Alley he ran into the Weasleys and Hermione Granger and was at least able to get one good laugh when Ron and Hermione went to Flourish and Blotts and asked for two copies of the Monster Book of Monsters. He saw the look of horror on the attendants' face and couldn't help laughing.

It was when they went to the pet shop for some rat tonic that Harry got a surprise. Ron had barely placed Scabbers on the table before an enormous ginger cat pounced and tried to eat the rat. Scabbers bolted from the shop with Ron in pursuit while Hermione grabbed onto the cat. The store owner said the cats' name was Crookshanks and Hermione decided to buy it. Harry knew this would cause friction between them which he thought would be quite funny.

Next morning Harry was surprised to find a Ministry car had been sent for his journey to Platform 9&3/4. The Davis' joined him in the car which was another surprise. He guessed this might have something to do with Sirius Black being after him but he didn't mention it.

The train ride started off the same as usual other than discovering their new DADA teacher, a man named R J Lupin according to a small, battered suitcase he was holding, was riding with them and was in fact asleep in the compartment that Harry, Tracey and the Greengrass sisters chose. Early in the journey they had to put up with Astoria's non-stop chatter about how excited she was to finally be going to Hogwarts but she eventually settled down. Due to their mixed company they got changed in the toilets like everyone else instead of their usual plan.

As the train continued north it got darker and wetter but they kept talking quietly while the new teacher slept on. About half an hour before they were scheduled to reach Hogwarts, however, something strange happened.

They realised something was wrong when the train suddenly slowed down and then came to a stuttering halt. They could hear several trunks falling out of the racks in other compartments and hoped no-one had been hurt when the lights suddenly went out. After a few moments of confusion Professor Lupin woke up. "Quiet," he said loudly. "Sit down, all of you. As long as you stay where you are nobody will get hurt. Please excuse me while I try to find out what has happened."

There was a crackling sound and suddenly bright light filled their compartment. Professor Lupin was holding what looked like glowing sphere of light in his hands. He moved toward the compartment door just as it opened.

The thing standing there was unlike anything Harry had ever seen before. It was extremely tall, at least 2 metres, and was almost completely covered in a black, shroud like cloak. Outside the cloak all Harry could see was a hand that looked like it belonged on a man who had drowned and begun rotting under water. As Harry looked at it the hand was withdrawn into the cloak. An intense cold filled the room and Harry could feel only fear at its presence. He was shivering uncontrollably. The thing drew in a deep, rattling breath that seemed to be sucking all the goodness and happiness out of the compartment. Distantly he could someone screaming. He was sure it was one of the girls and he wanted to help but he found himself paralyzed. He collapsed to the floor with the screaming ringing in his ears.

{}{}{}

Harry woke to the sound of the train rumbling down the track. He was laying on one of the seats in the compartment with Professor Lupin crouched next to him. One the other seat, looking quite frightened sat the three girls. As soon as he moved to sit up Tracey jumped across. "Harry, are you all right?" she asked.

"Here, Harry, eat this," Professor Lupin said, giving him a chocolate frog.

Unsteadily, Harry sat up and looked around. As soon as he had sat up Tracey sat next to him. Up close he could see she was pale and shaking slightly. He looked over at the Greengrass sisters and saw they looked just as shaken as he felt.

"I must go have a word with the driver," Lupin said. "Eat up and take it easy, I'll be back soon."

Harry looked at the chocolate frog. He then looked around the compartment. All eyes were on him. He found this strange. "I heard someone screaming," he said.

"Nobody in here screamed," Tracey said.

"I heard screaming," Harry insisted.

"Harry, you fainted. You must have imagined the scream," Tracey said.

"We were all pretty shaken up when that thing came in here," Daphne said. "When you collapsed Professor Lupin cast some kind of spell. It created a bright light and suddenly we felt warm again. Then he forced that thing to leave. Once it was gone everything went back to normal."

At this point Lupin returned. "Eat up, Harry," he said. "You'll feel much better after you've eaten that chocolate."

Harry did as he was told and immediately began to feel better. Meanwhile Lupin was giving chocolate to the others. Feeling a little better, Harry turned to Lupin and asked, "What was that thing?"

"That was one of the Dementors from Azkaban. They were searching the train for Sirius Black," Lupin explained. "It is my understanding they will be stationed at all the entrances to the Hogwarts grounds. The Ministry has ordered them there."

The remainder of the journey passed in silence. Harry could see the others were all watching him closely and tried to remain calm.

When they arrived in Hogsmeade Harry walked determinedly to the carriages. Astoria would have to ride across the lake in the boats but Daphne and Tracey joined him in the carriage where they were joined by Blaise and Theo both of whom were talking about their encounter with the Dementor. Harry was listening but soon realised they had not had as bad a reaction as he had. Theo admitted to feeling sick at the time. He couldn't help but think about his mother's death which he had witnessed at a young age. This led Harry to think that maybe what he had heard was a memory perhaps of his own parent's deaths.

As the carriage approached the gates of Hogwarts Harry again felt a wave of intense told. He closed his eyes and grabbed tightly onto the seat. After a few harrowing seconds the chill went away and he was able to relax but kept his eyes closed until the carriage came to a stop. Only then did he open his eyes and unsteadily get out of the carriage.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Tracey asked as they climbed the steps to the Main Entrance.

Before he could reply Professor Snape stepped up to him. "Come with me Potter."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Professor Lupin sent an owl on ahead to say you were taken ill on the train. I am to escort you to the hospital wing for a check-up. Come along quickly. I want to get back in time for the feast."

 **Author's Note:** Very few reviews and no ideas for the Slytherin's boggarts. This will be the last chapter to be published until I get some more feedback.


	4. 4 New Subjects

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 4: New Subjects**

When they entered the hospital wing Harry was relieved to find he wasn't the only student present. A boy, second year he guessed, was already there. Madam Pomfrey was giving the boy a measure of some potion, probably a calming draught. She turned to Snape and said, "Another one?"

"Apparently," Snape replied as he directed Harry onto the bed next to the boy. Having done that Snape went to leave but was called back

"Wait a moment Severus. If those Dementors are going to be here for the full year I am going to need a large supply of calming draughts and similar potions." Madam Pomfrey turned her attention to Harry. "Firstly, Potter, drink this." She gave him a measure of calming draught then offered him some chocolate.

"Professor Lupin already gave me some chocolate," Harry replied.

"Well, I'm glad to see we finally have a DADA teacher who knows his remedies,' Madam Pomfrey said, sounding happy.

"I'm sure he does," Snape said. "If that is all?"

"Of course. Could you please escort both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Potter back to the hall for me, Severus? It looks as if I will have much work to do tonight."

"I will make those potions as soon as I can," Snape said. "Come along you two, I do not wish to be late for the feast."

After entering the Great hall and sitting at the Slytherin table Harry looked around and realised he had missed the sorting ceremony. Professor Flitwick was carrying the sorting hat and its stool from the hall. He wondered where professor McGonagall was but before he could ask she entered the Hall with Hermione Granger. Harry noted Granger looked very pleased about something.

After Professor Dumbledore's speech, which included mention of the Dementors and how students could avoid running afoul of them, he introduced not one but two new teachers. Professor Lupin would be teaching DADA and Hagrid had been promoted to Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

Hagrid's new job caught many off guard and Harry distinctly heard Draco Malfoy complaining loudly about it. Harry was happy for Hagrid, however but, remembering the new text book for the subject, thought he had made the right decision about his extra subjects.

After the feast Harry joined his fellow Slytherins in returning to the Common Room. Unlike the previous year he decided to go straight up to bed. His earlier encounter with the Dementor had left him feeling tired. Most of his fellow third years did the same although Theo stayed behind. When he did come to bed he said the prefects had given the same speech as the last two years.

Classes started the next day and one of their first lessons was Arithmancy. Harry had a look around the class and noted the only Gryffindor present was Hermione Granger. The other students were all Slytherin and Ravenclaw. There were no Hufflepuffs. When Harry commented on this Theo said he doubted any Hufflepuffs were smart enough to cope with it. Harry doubted this but said nothing.

Professor Vector used the class to give a general overview of the subject before assigning them homework, to be completed before their next lesson.

Ancient Runes was the subject Harry was most looking forward to. The first problem they encountered, however, was how to enter the classroom. Professor Babbling had placed a runic code on the door which they had to solve before they could enter. It took the students several minutes to figure it out but eventually managed it. Once inside Professor Babbling told them this was a simple message and if they had trouble with that then perhaps they had chosen the wrong class.

As Harry looked around the room he noticed that once again Hermione Granger was the only Gryffindor present. This time, however, there were two Hufflepuffs. Justin Finch-Fletchly and Susan Bones sat together near Hermione who was seated with a dark haired Ravenclaw girl. Harry thought for a moment before finally remembering her name was Morag McDougall.

After classes the Slytherins compared notes on their new subjects. Apparently Draco had been injured during the Care of Magical Creatures lesson when a Hippogriff they were learning about had attacked him. Draco claimed the beast had gored him without provocation and that he was going to tell his father which Harry thought was rather childish.

Nonetheless, Harry was concerned over this. Firstly the book for that class tried to bite anyone who touched it. Apparently there was a trick to opening the book but nobody had mastered it and Hagrid had been forced to show them. Secondly Hippogriffs were hardly a suitable creature for a beginner's class since they were regarded as dangerous. Harry decided to ask around.

"Theo? What really happened in care of Magical Creatures today?"

"Hagrid is an idiot," Theo began. "We go out to that cabin he calls his home and the he leads us to a paddock. When we arrive there is nothing there but he tells us to open our books. Of course nobody knows how to so the oaf shows us. Draco says how silly we are. Clearly he is being sarcastic but anyway. Once we finally do get our books open Hagrid proceeds to make a fool of himself by forgetting what he was saying. Eventually he remembers and goes off to get the creatures we are studying."

"Okay, so what happened with Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Hagrid tells us how to approach the Hippogriffs. He then drags out Weasley who manages to get it right. Then everyone else has a go. Suddenly, with no warning, the Hippogriff Malfoy is with rears up and attacks. It rips open Malfoys' arm and Hagrid has to carry him to the hospital wing."

"So the Hippogriff just attacked?" Tracey asked.

"That's right," Pansy intervened. "And poor, innocent Draco suffers a life threatening injury. Hagrid should he sacked right now. He's a menace."

"He is certainly unfit to teach," Theo said. Nearby Crabbe and Goyle nodded in agreement.

"Draco will probably never fully recover," Pansy simpered.

Harry doubted the truth of that statement. Madam Pomfrey was a great healer and Harry doubted there was anything that could happen at Hogwarts she wasn't capable of putting right.

Next day during potions the class was hard at work making the required potion when, halfway through the lesson, Draco walked in. Without so much a cursory glance at him Snape tells the class to settle down. Harry knew that if he walked into class late like that Snape would have given him a detention regardless of the reason.

So far Harry had only heard the Slytherin's version of events during Care of Magical Creatures and he was determined to hear both sides of the story. Theo had mentioned Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were in the class so he decided to ask them about it as soon as possible.

That opportunity came up later that evening. Harry was in the library with Tracey when he saw Hermione and Ron sitting together. Hermione was clearly trying to help Ron with his homework but Ron didn't seem interested.

"Excuse me, Hermione," he said as he approached their table.

"May I help you?" she replied.

"I would like to know what really happened yesterday during Care of Magical Creatures. So far I've heard what Pansy and co. are saying but I want to know the full story."

"Malfoy wasn't paying attention," Hermione said. "What happened to him is his own fault. If he had been paying attention he would have known not to insult the Hippogriff."

"That is basically what I expected to hear," Harry said.

"I suppose Malfoy is going to tell his father?" Ron said scathingly.

"Probably," Harry replied. "Undoubtedly most of the Slytherins will back him up, too. I won't be, however."

"At least there are some Slytherins who care about the truth," Hermione said.

Harry noticed the book in front of the Gryffindors was a Divination textbook. "Why are you studying Divination? Aren't those classes on at the same time as Ancient Runes?"

"They are," Hermione said. "I'm coping with it, though."

"Why are you asking?" Ron asked. "Hermione was in Divination with me yesterday."

"That's not possible," Harry said. "She was in Arithmancy with me at that time."

"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "I can't be in two places at once. Come on, Ron, let's go back to the common room. There will be less distractions there." Quickly, Hermione packed up her books and hurried away. Ron grabbed his things and headed off after her.

"How could Granger be in two places at once?" Tracey asked.

"I don't know, but somehow she was," Harry replied before they left for the Slytherin Common Room.

Harry had more important things to worry about than Hermione Granger's timetable, however. He had his own subjects to worry about and he was finding Ancient Runes to be especially challenging. Draco had been right when he had said it was like learning a new language and a new form of magic at the same time. He decided to treat it as such, concentrating on the language aspect first. This meant breaking down each runic symbol and learning its meaning before putting it into a longer word.

"So what you are doing is learning it phonetically," Robert Davis said when Harry and Tracey asked him for advice. "Sensible and probably the easiest way to learn it. You will need to remember, however, that some runes have a different meaning when combined with others."

"I guess there will be a lot of trial and error as we go forward, then?" Tracey asked.

"Yes," Robert replied. "But as long as you take it steadily and don't try to rush ahead in leaps and bounds you should do ok. The most important thing is keep calm, especially when it comes to exams."

Fortunately Harry's other subjects were coming along well. Even Arithmancy, which at first glance looked complicated, was turning out to be easier than expected.

Thursday morning saw the Slytherins preparing for their first DADA class. They had heard from the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs that their first lesson concerned facing a Boggart, a strange creature that could apparently read minds and could use what it learnt to turn into their worst fears.

"This should be interesting," Draco said. "I am looking forward to seeing what it is frightens people the most."

"You do realise that we will all learn what your greatest fear is too, Malfoy, or have you forgotten that detail?" Theo asked.

"That's easy. I'll just stay at the back of the class and let everyone else make fools of themselves," Draco said.

Immediately several students began plotting ways to trick Malfoy into going to the front of the class so he would have to face the Boggart first.

As they assembled outside the classroom several students settled towards the back of the group. Harry was going to join them when Blaise called him aside. "We've got a plan all worked out, Potter. I have already spoken to some older students who had DADA this morning and they have agreed with our idea about getting at Malfoy," he whispered to Harry.

"Okay. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Wait and see," Blaise replied.

At this point Professor Lupin arrived. "Good afternoon. If you will follow me please, we are working down here today." Lupin led them to a disused classroom on the ground floor. Inside was a large wardrobe. "Now I daresay you have been talking to your fellow students and yes, there is a boggart in that wardrobe."

Lupin then asked a few questions about boggart before telling them to line up. "Mr. Malfoy? Perhaps you would like to have first crack at it?"

Everybody turned to look at Draco hiding near the back of the class. He looked less than happy with this turn of events.

As Malfoy made his way to the front Blaise whispered in Harry's ear, "Amazing what you can achieve with a simple bribe, isn't it?"


	5. 5 Boggarts and Intruders

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Author's Note:** I received only two suggestions for boggarts for the Slytherins, one of which I couldn't use due to Lavender Brown being a very minor (almost non-existent) character in this story. This coupled with the low number of reviews (10 as of 21/11/16) means I am now considering discontinuing this story. At present the series will finish with this year.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 5: Boggarts and Intruders**

"Right, Draco," Professor Lupin began. "The charm that will repel a boggart is fairly easy, but it requires a strong mind to overcome your greatest fear. The charm is 'Riddiculus'. Everybody clear about that? Good. Before we begin I want everybody to think about their greatest fear and how they might overcome it."

Harry thought about what would frighten him the most. The first thing to come to mind was Lord Voldemort, fully restored and out for revenge against Harry for defeating him all those years ago. But then he thought about that creeping horror from the train. The Dementor. How could he possibly make a dementor less scary?

Professor Lupin's voice brought Harry back to the present. "All ready, Draco? All right I'm opening the wardrobe." Lupin pointed his wand at the door and it sprung open.

The boggart turned into Lucius Malfoy who turned to his son. "You are a great disappointment to…"

"Riddiculus," Draco shouted pointing his wand at his father. With a loud pop Lucius Malfoy disappeared and was replaced with a large peacock which strutted away.

"Excellent, well done," Lupin said. "Who's next?"

The remainder of the Slytherins had all moved back leaving the Ravenclaws to face the boggart. After several of them faced it they retreated leaving the Slytherins to try it.

Next up was Daphne Greengrass. She nervously approached the boggart which turned into an old crone which cackled," When I was your age I looked like you. Soon you'll look like me."

"Riddiculus," Daphne shouted and, with a pop, the boggart turned into a firework which whizzed around before stopping in front of Millicent Bulstrode. With a pop it turned into a troll which lunged for her.

Millicent shouted "Riddiculus," and the troll became a fairy which fluttered toward Blaise.

With a pop the fairy became a baby which started crawling toward him. Harry thought it was saying "Dada," but Blaise shouted "Riddiculus," over it. The baby flipped over in mid-air and landed in front of Crabbe.

With a pop it turned into Goyle and tried to hug Crabbe who shouted "Riddiculus." 'Goyle' tripped over and fell flat on its face. By now almost the whole class was laughing.

Next the boggart turned to Harry. Before he could face it, however, Professor Lupin jumped in front of him. With a pop the boggart turned into a shining globe floating in mid-air. "Riddiculus," Lupin shouted as he forced the boggart back into the wardrobe, slamming the door as he did so.

"I think we'll leave it there for today," Lupin began. "I think 5 points to each student who faced the boggart is fair. For homework I want you to summarise the chapter on boggarts in your text books. Dismissed."

The Slytherins returned to their Common Room. Most of the students had had not faced the boggart were quite happy about it. Harry, however, was wondering why Lupin had stopped him from facing it.

"I wonder why Lupin jumped in front of me when the boggart came towards me?" he asked.

"What? Did you want to have your worst fears revealed in front of the whole class? Malfoy asked. "I know I didn't and I'm not happy I got called out in there.

"I admit having to face a boggart can be scary; but I would have liked to have a go myself" Tracey put in. "I'm not really sure what I fear the most and I would have liked the chance to face my fear."

"All right then, Davis" Malfoy said. "Why don't you go back there now so we can all see what you're afraid of? You too, Potter."

Harry considered doing as Malfoy suggested but before he could reply Graham Montague, the new Slytherin Quidditch captain, interrupted. "Potter, Malfoy. Saturday morning I want you both on the Quidditch pitch at 7-30. We are holding trials for all positions. Our first game is against Ravenclaw and I want us to be at our best with the best available team. If you don't turn up you won't even be considered for the reserves."

"How can I trial with this?" Malfoy complained, holding up his arm still swathed in bandages. Harry knew he was putting on an act but decided against saying anything. As it turned out Montague knew he was faking.

"Easy," Montague told Malfoy. "Turn up or else I'll tell Snape you're faking an injury to get out of your commitments." With that he walked away leaving Malfoy seething.

Saturday morning Harry and Draco walked out to the pitch together. Even though they were trialling for the same position they had reached a level of friendly rivalry rather than antagonistic opponents. When they arrived at the pitch Malfoy decided to trial for chaser as well. Harry considered doing the same but, since he was the incumbent seeker, he would concentrate only on the one position.

Montague was careful to ensure there were no outsiders present, even going so far as to have a number of students patrolling the stands and any other areas where spies might be hiding. It proved to be a good idea as the Weasley twins were discovered trying to hide under concealment charms. They were chased from the stadium and Professor Snape was informed, causing him to deduct 50 points from Gryffindor and put both twins on detention.

At the end of the session Harry was named as seeker while Malfoy earned a spot as chaser. This time, however, Montague told him to play up the 'injury' to try and gain an additional advantage should things start looking bad for the team for any reason.

The next month saw Harry dividing his time between studies and Quidditch. Because he had so much to keep him occupied he didn't notice the passage of time until late October when a notice appears on the Common Room's notice board saying that the first Hogsmeade weekend would be on Halloween. Harry now remembered his unsigned form.

It didn't the others long to notice Harry's change and it was Draco who asked first. "What's up with you, Potter?"

"I didn't get my Hogsmeade form signed. With everything that happened around me back then it slipped my mind," he admitted.

"That's easy to fix," Draco said. "I'll ask mother to pay them a visit. I'm sure those muggles will agree to her suggestion." Harry decided not to ask exactly what Draco meant.

On the Wednesday before Halloween, as Harry was having breakfast, the post owls arrived. He was surprised when a large regal looking owl landed in front of him and held out its leg for him. As he was removing the note Draco said, "That'll be from mother. I expect that is your permission form."

Harry read the note which confirmed Draco was right. "Thank you, Draco," he said. "This will really help me, and not just for this year."

"I wonder what Mrs. Malfoy did to get them to sign?" Tracey asked. "Nothing illegal, I hope?"

"I'd say her just being there might have made them sign it," Harry said.

"Let's hope so."

He took the note to Professor Snape that evening. Snape looked at it suspiciously.

"I was under the impression your guardians refused to sign this form. How is it you suddenly have a signed note just three days before the scheduled visit?" Snape asked.

"I told Draco and he spoke to his mother. She then paid the Dursleys a visit and asked them to sign it," Harry explained.

"Indeed? I shall personally check on that. Dismissed." Harry left the office.

Later Professor Snape spoke to him. "It seems Narcissa did indeed visit the Dursleys. Very well; you may participate in this outing," he said.

Harry had temporarily forgotten about the Dementors surrounding the castle. He remembered them when he discovered he had to walk past them as they guarded the gate, however. If Draco, Crabbe and Goyle hadn't been nearby he may have been forced to turn back but, with their support he made it past them. This still left the problem of the return trip but be hoped one of the teachers might be able to help him. The others were aware of Harry's fears so Draco decided to return early to arrange for a teacher to be at the gate. Harry wondered why such a precaution wasn't being taken anyway. When he voiced this several fellow students agreed with him.

During the walk back to Hogwarts Harry and Tracey went ahead of the others. As they approached within sight of the gates they heard a rustling in the trees off to their left. Soon after an enormous, shaggy black dog stepped onto the path. Harry drew his wand and waited. His movement seemed to alert the dog to their presence as it immediately turned toward them. After a second the dog bounded back into the trees and was lost from sight.

"Stray dog," Harry said as he put his wand away.

"You seem a bit jumpy. Is something wrong?" Tracey asked.

"Just the Dementors up ahead," he explained. "Anyway we already know some of the things Hagrid keeps around the place. That could have been one of his escaped pets."

Ahead of them Professor Flitwick stood by the gates. "Welcome back Miss Davis; Mr Potter. I trust you enjoyed yourselves?"

"Yes, thank you, sir," Tracey replied.

That evening, as the students enjoyed the Halloween feast, someone entered the castle and made their way up to Gryffindor tower where he was refused entry. The Slytherin students were made aware of this as they were preparing to go to bed when Professor Snape hurried into the Common Room and said in a magically amplified voice, "All students come to the Common Room, immediately."

Everybody hurried to comply since they knew something serious must have happened. There was no other reason for Snape to demand their presence like that.

"I am to take all of you immediately back to the Great Hall where you are to remain until further notice," Snape began. "No doubt you will find out what has happened soon after your arrival. Follow me, quickly. Prefects, ensure there are no stragglers."

When they reached to Great Hall Professor Dumbledore addressed them, "The staff I must conduct a thorough search of the castle. I am afraid that, for your own safety, you will need to remain here. I want the prefects to stand guard at the entrances to the hall and I am placing the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbances are to be reported to me directly. Send word with one of the ghosts." Dumbledore directed that last comment at Percy Weasley specifically.

As he went to leave Dumbledore added, "Ah, yes. You will be needing these." With a wave of his wand the house tables suddenly lifted into the air and stacked themselves neatly on one side of the room and, with another wave, hundreds of squashy, purple sleeping bags appeared. "Sleep well," he said as he and the other teachers left the hall.

Immediately the room was filled with rumble of hundreds of voices. Harry and his fellow Slytherin boys grabbed sleeping bags and tried to head for the edge of the room but became distracted when they heard a Gryffindor girl excitedly telling her friends in other houses that the Gryffindor Common Room had been attacked by Sirius Black. She said he had apparently become quite violent when he was refused entry by their guardian portrait.

"Alright everybody go to bed. Lights out will be in 5 minutes," Percy Weasley shouted above the clamour of voices. Gradually everybody climbed into sleeping bags with their friends in small groups around them.

"Sirius Black is supposed to be after me," Harry said as the group settled down. "Why would he attack Gryffindor?"

"Maybe he thinks you are a Gryffindor?" Blaise put in. "Aren't you the first Slytherin in your family?"

"That might be it, yeah," Harry began before being drowned out by Percy Weasley's voice.

"The lights are going out now," he said. "Everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking."

"Shut up yourself Weasel," Malfoy said.


	6. 6 Demented Quidditch

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Author's Note:** Before I begin I would like to respond to a comment I received after my Author' Note in the previous chapter. One of the reasons there are so many unfinished stories on this and on other Fanfiction sites is a lack of feedback. When people read a story and don't make a comment there is the perception they did not like it. Since there is no way of telling how often a particular person reads a particular story except through feedback this leaves the author with the impression that many different people are reading the story but are deciding they don't like it so they move on to something else instead. I cannot speak for other authors but that is how I feel. Incidentally after just one day Chapter five had received more reviews than any other chapter in this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in: Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 6: Demented Quidditch**

Next morning the students were told the search had failed to turn up any evidence of Black. They were advised they could return to their Common Rooms and to continue with their usual routine but they were asked to remain vigilant and to report any unusual activity to a teacher or prefect promptly.

Harry spoke to Tracey about Blaise's theory. "He could be right," she said. "I think a better question would be why he chose to attack when everybody was together in the Great Hall. It would have made far more sense to have gone after you during the Hogsmeade visit during the day. Not only would he have had more chance of catching you he would have had more chance to escape afterwards."

"Maybe he tried but couldn't find me?" Harry suggested.

"That could be it," Tracey said just as Professor Snape appeared.

"Potter, come with me. I have something important to tell you. You may go, Miss Davis," Snape said.

Harry followed Snape to his office where he was told to sit.

"Potter, the Headmaster has asked me to speak to you regarding your safety."

"Professor," Harry began, "I know Sirius Black is after me. Mrs. Davis told me over the summer holidays."

"Indeed?" Snape asked. "Do you think it a good idea to go wandering around with only your friends or teammates to protect you? Do you know Black murdered 13 people with one curse?"

"I did know that, sir, yes. But if I don't train with the team we will be hugely disadvantaged for our first Quidditch match."

Snape looked closely at him. "You are determined to play despite the risk?"

"I think the risk is minimal, sir. If you think that it's too high then perhaps you could get someone to supervise our training."

"Very well. I shall ask Madam Hooch to supervise your training sessions. You may go," Snape said before turning to a stack of assignments on his desk. Harry left the office.

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The next month saw Harry trying to keep up to date with an abnormally large amount of homework as well as training sessions for Quidditch. His teammates were unhappy that Madam Hooch was watching all their sessions and the captain, Graham Montague, had complained to Professor Snape about it only to be told that Snape himself had asked her to supervise them.

November turned into a cold, windy month but the Slytherin Quidditch team were still practicing at every opportunity. They had not given up on trying to conceal their trainings and still maintained patrols around the stadium just in case there were any more snoopers. Madam Hooch had agreed not to tell anybody what they were doing but Montague was still unhappy about her presence. He felt there was no need for her to be there when they had patrols of their own in place but Professor Snape disagreed. He insisted she stay there as an added precaution.

The Friday evening before the first Quidditch match of the season saw Harry still doing homework. He was in the library with several other Slytherin third years' when they heard Ron Weasley complaining about a DADA assignment that Professor Snape had set them. They were surprised Snape had taught a DADA class and wondered if Professor Lupin was ill.

The first Quidditch match for the year would be Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff. The Slytherins weren't overly worried about Hufflepuff even though they were the defending champions but they would certainly be paying attention to what Gryffindor was doing. Montague still considered them to be the greatest threat to their attempt to regain the Quidditch cup for the first time in three years.

As it turned out the Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff match went ahead in atrocious conditions. A full blown storm swept the grounds bringing with it lightning and thunder not to mention heavy rain, strong wind and intense cold. Half an hour into the game Harry suddenly felt it get much colder. A bright flash of lightning made him look up at the top row of seats on the opposite side of the stadium where he saw a large, shaggy creature resembling a dog.

A cry from someone near him made him look down. On the pitch were dozens of Dementors. He could see them swarming toward a player who had apparently fallen from their broom and who was being gently lowered to the ground by a magic spell. As he watched he heard a screaming sound that seemed to get steadily louder. Around him people were starting to panic and he felt himself being jostled. Now he could make out words mixed with the screams.

" _Not Harry. Please take me instead," a woman cried._

" _Stand aside you foolish girl," said a high pitched voice that seemed to chill Harry to the bone._

" _Please no," screamed the woman._

" _Avada Kedavra," the other voice shouted._ There was a flash of green light then Harry passed out.

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Harry woke up feeling warm and comfortable. He wondered where he was and tried to sit to assess his surroundings. As he sat up he heard Daphne's voice, "He's awake, Tracey."

"Harry? How do you feel?" Tracey asked a moment later.

"Ok. What happened? How did I get here?"

"You collapsed," Tracey replied. "Right after the Dementors invaded the pitch. I think somebody knocked you over but as you lay on the ground your whole body started shaking. I thought you were having a seizure."

"Dementors invaded the pitch, I remember that then somebody started screaming." Harry decided not to mention he was certain he had heard his mother just moments before Voldemort murdered her. He felt that might be pushing it.

"Quite a few people were screaming; me included," Daphne admitted. This made Harry feel a little better. He should now be able to keep the rest secret.

"Well, at least it's over," Tracey said. "Hufflepuff won, by the way, 150 – 50. The Gryffindor seeker, McLaggen panicked when the Dementors arrived and fell off his broom, leaving Diggory an easy catch for Hufflepuff."

Harry stayed in the hospital wing overnight. When Madam Pomfrey released him in the morning he immediately sought out Theodore Nott. "Hey, Nott," he said when he found him. "Do you know of any stories about a large black dog?"

"Do you mean the Grim?" Theo asked.

"What's that?"

"The Grim is a spectral hound that is said to haunt graveyards. It is said that anyone who sees it is doomed to die within a short period of time. Any reason for asking?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I've seen a large, black dog three times in the last three months or so."

Theo looked startled. "Really? When did you see it?"

"The first time was the night I ran away from my relatives' house. Just before the Knight Bus appeared I saw it staring at me. Then the Knight Bus almost ran me over."

"Don't worry," Theo interrupted. "The Knight bus can't hit anyone. You were safe there. What about the next one?"

"It was the day of the Hogsmeade visit. As we were returning I saw it near the gates, although I wasn't alone at the time so it's probably nothing. Anyway, the third time was yesterday, at the Quidditch match just before the Dementors arrived."

"I think we can discount the second one," Theo said. "If somebody else saw it too it was probably a stray dog. Yesterday, though; that's a worry, especially since you passed out. I doubt you were in any personal danger but it was a dangerous situation. You could have been trampled in the panic. Did anyone else see it?"

"I don't think so," Harry replied. "At least no one mentioned it to me. Thanks for the information, Nott, I better get going before someone starts worrying."

'Someone' was, of course, Tracey and when he met her she said, "Where have you been? I went to the hospital wing but you'd already gone."

"I was talking to Theo," Harry replied. "Why were you so worried?"

"Because you said you heard someone screaming when the Dementors arrived," she replied. "Daphne was screaming, yes, but I doubt that's what you meant. I know how badly the Dementors affect you and I can guess you were reliving your worst memories at the time. Would you like to talk about that?"

Harry realised Tracey had seen through his façade. "It doesn't matter," he said. "That was a personal matter. Nothing to worry about."

Tracey eyed him carefully but didn't say anything.

The weather improved significantly over the week and, by Saturday, it was sunny and quite warm for early December; it wasn't freezing cold at least. Draco was playing chaser along with Montague and Warrington while the rest of the Slytherin team were the same as last year. Ravenclaw also had much the same team. Slytherin were better all-round, however, and soon built up a very comfortable lead.

About an hour into the game Harry saw the snitch pass below him and quickly turned to follow it. As he did so he saw a large shaggy dog at the base of one of elevated viewing towers right next to a group of students who were clearly aware of its presence, one of them was even stroking the dog's fur. Refocusing on the snitch he accelerated to top speed and caught it just ahead of the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang with whom he collided after making the catch. Both players landed safely, however.

"Great catch Potter," Montague said when they landed.

"Yeah, well done," Draco added. "I scored my first three goals, too.

"What was the final score?" Harry asked. "I know we were well ahead when I saw the snitch."

"340 – 30," Montague replied. "We would have won even if you hadn't caught it but points could become important later on in the season so a big win is better."

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Tracey's birthday was coming up and Harry had already ordered her present. She had been dropping hints about a certain book which had just come out about a wizard pretending to be a muggle while living among them and this is what he had bought her.

On her birthday Harry gave Tracey her present and they shared a birthday cake her mother had made along with Robert, Daphne and Astoria. Later Harry and Tracey went for a private walk around the castle. Along the way they noticed Robert seemed to be following them but before they could confront him about it they met Professor Lupin.

"Good evening Harry, Tracey," Lupin said.

"Good evening Professor," they replied.

"Professor?" Harry asked. "Could I ask you about something that has been bothering me for a while?"

"Of course you may. Come in." Lupin led them into his office.

"I think I'll have a word with my brother," Tracey said. "If you will excuse me?"

"I'll catch up with you in the Common Room," Harry said. She left.

"What would you like to ask me?" Lupin asked as he sat behind his desk and pointed to another chair nearby. Harry sat down.

"It was in our first DADA class," Harry began. "When the boggart faced me you jumped in front of it. I was wondering why you did that."

Lupin studied Harry closely before speaking. "I would have thought the reason was fairly obvious. The boggart forces us to face our worst fears, and I guessed the boggart would turn into Lord Voldemort returned to full power. I thought it wise to prevent this happening where there were a large group of young people. I thought the sight of him suddenly appearing there would have been too much for some people."

Lupin's answer surprised Harry. He had expected Professor Lupin to deny doing it but instead Lupin had admitted it and given his reason, even using Voldemort's name, something he had only ever heard Dumbledore do. "I did think of Voldemort first," Harry admitted, "but then I thought of the Dementors."

"Indeed?" Lupin sounded surprised. "Very interesting, and very wise. It seems the thing you are most afraid of is fear itself."

"Professor?" Harry asked. "On the train, you chased that Dementor away. How did you do that?"

"There is one defence that can be used," Lupin said thoughtfully. "It is called the Patronus charm and it creates a barrier of happiness that Dementors cannot penetrate."

"Could you teach me?" Harry asked.

Lupin stared at Harry, clearly very surprised by the request. "Harry, that is very advanced magic, beyond even Newt level. Many fully qualified wizards are unable to cast it."

"I would still like to try, just in case they do come back." Harry was referring to the first Quidditch match.

"Perhaps after the holidays?" Lupin suggested, looking doubtful. "Unfortunately I have been ill recently and have gotten a little behind with my work."

"Thank you, professor. Goodbye." Harry stood up.

"Good bye, Harry, and have a good holiday."


	7. 7 A Very Quiet Christmas

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 7: A Very Quiet Christmas**

When Harry returned to the Common Room Tracey told him Robert was following them under orders from their mother. She had told Robert to make sure Harry was kept safe and out of trouble. Tracey told him there was no need to follow Harry, although the words she had used were somewhat different.

The last few days of term passed without incident. All of Harry's teachers had given homework assignments which would take up a lot of time but none were excessively difficult so he was confident he would complete them all with relative ease.

On the last Friday of term Harry went to Professor Lupin's office to ask about learning the Patronus charm. Lupin invited him to sit so they could discuss arrangements but before they could begin there was another knock on the door.

"Ah, Severus," Lupin said. "I was just showing Harry my Grindylow. I thought we would study it at the beginning of the next term."

"Indeed?" Snape sounded sceptical. "Lupin, I have made another batch of your potion. I would suggest you drink it straight away. I have more should you need it." Snape seemed to be completely ignoring Harry as he placed a smoking goblet on Lupin's desk.

"Thank you, Severus. I shall be needing more tomorrow," Lupin replied. He picked up the goblet and began drinking as Snape left the room. "Now. How may I help you, Harry?"

"I was asking about learning the Patronus charm," Harry replied eyeing the still smoking goblet with some concern.

"Of course," Lupin replied. I think the muggle studies classroom would be suitable for our needs. Come and see me after our first DADA class of the new term so we can finalise the arrangements."

"Thank you for your help, Professor."

"Good bye, Harry."

Harry told Tracey about Lupin's potion as soon as he returned to the Common Room. He also mentioned it to Theo but no-one seemed to know why Lupin would need such a potion or what it might be.

The day before the students were to leave there was a Hogsmeade weekend which Harry decided he would go on even though it meant passing the Dementors. As with last time the Slytherins left as a group, walking quickly past the Dementors by the gate, before splitting into smaller groups. Harry decided to join Blaise and Theo since he was looking for Tracey's Christmas present.

The three boys toured around all the shops they could find and, by midday, they had a collection of presents for various people. For lunch they headed to The Three Broomsticks, a bar in Hogsmeade which served as the social hub of the village, where they were to meet the others.

As soon as they entered they met up with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle who had already set aside a table in the corner. After getting their drinks they sat down and were soon joined by Pansy and Millicent. They sat talking quietly and drinking their butterbeers when they were disturbed by a loud shout. Looking up they realised Hagrid was sitting nearby along with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, the Minister of Magic; Cornelius Fudge and Madam Rosmerta.

They tried to listen in on what was being said but could only make out some of it. From they could overhear it seemed the adults were discussing Sirius Black. Harry told the others he already knew Black had escaped to come after him and he assumed the adult's discussion was about Black's reasons.

That evening Draco and Harry sat in the Common Room. "You know Potter, I could ask father or mother if they know anything about Black that might help keep you safe," Malfoy said.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to learn as much as possible, although I think I am fairly safe as long as I don't do anything stupid," Harry replied.

"Mother is Black's first cousin," Malfoy said. "She could probably tell us some secrets that nobody else knows about him."

"That would be helpful. I would appreciate that, thank you for the offer."

"Right. I should go and finish packing. Are you sure you will be alright here, alone?"

"Tracey is staying too. I won't be alone."

"She's just a third year like us. If Black does attack she won't be much help, except maybe as a diversion."

"I don't think that would happen," Harry said sounding doubtful. "If we see Black I'll make sure she gets away while I distract him. I am the one he's after anyway."

Draco eyed Harry carefully. "I think you are too confident. Black didn't hesitate to kill a wizard as well as 12 muggles after all. What is there to stop him killing both of you?"

Harry was worried about that but kept his feelings to himself. "I think it will be all right. Enjoy your holiday, Malfoy. Thanks for your concern, however."

"Ok. See you later, Potter," Malfoy said as he left the room. After a few moments Harry followed him.

{}{}{}

The Christmas holidays had arrived and, by lunchtime, the castle was largely deserted. When Harry and Tracey entered the Great Hall they realised there were actually more staff than students who were staying over. Apart from themselves there appeared to be only two other students, one each from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Harry found it funny that Gryffindor, supposedly the house of courage, had no representatives. The entire house had fled the castle to escape the Dementors.

After lunch he and Tracey returned to the Common Room where they sat together in front of the fire.

"Harry? I was thinking I should move into your dormitory rather than us both staying in our separate rooms. What do you think?" Tracey asked.

"I don't mind. There is even less chance of anyone finding out about it than there was two years ago. I'm still surprised nobody ever realised you were sleeping in the boys dorms back then."

"So am I. However this time unless Snape comes snooping around there is no possibility of anyone finding out."

"Except Fred and George Weasley. If they decide to use the Marauder's map over the holidays they're bound to see us."

"Why would they, though?"

"I don't know. Maybe they just want to get nosy?"

Tracey laughed. "As if. So, should I move in?"

"Yeah, sure. Snape never comes in here unless he has to and there is nobody else who might want to visit us."

By the time they headed back to the Great Hall for dinner Tracey had moved most of her belongings into Harry's room. She had decided to leave most of her clothes behind just in case someone did come around, even though this was unlikely. Just as they had done two years previously Tracey would get changed in the en-suite and would sleep in Blaise's bed.

After getting changed that evening Harry and Tracey were laying in their separate beds when Tracey said, "You know I've just thought of something. Remember two month ago when we heard Weasley complaining about a DADA assignment Snape had set?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "What about it?"

"One month ago Lupin was missing from the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and now you say Lupin looks ill and Snape is making a potion for him. It seems there is a pattern starting to form."

"Now that you mention it, yeah. And he seemed ill when we met him on the train at the start of the year. All these events happen around the beginning or the end of each month."

"Yes, exactly. What could cause someone to be ill around the same time each month? If Lupin was a woman we might put it down to menstruation but, obviously, that's not it."

Harry was going to ask but then he realised what Tracey meant by menstruation. Instead he tried to think of another plausible reason.

"I can't think of anything either," Harry said after a few moments. "He was in the Great Hall today but looked ill. It looked as if Snape was watching him, too."

"I suppose Snape was keeping an eye on him but why? Even if he is ill he can't have been too ill or he wouldn't have been in there. Anyway, let's get some sleep. Goodnight, Harry."

"Good night Tracey. See you in the morning."

{}{}{}

Harry awoke early in the morning. He lay in bed thinking about everything they had discussed the night before. What was wrong with Lupin that occurred every month and, seemingly, required special treatment? It clearly wasn't a major situation since it hadn't prevented Lupin becoming a teacher but it was obviously bad enough. Harry decided it might be some incurable but non-contagious medical condition, although he couldn't think of what that might be.

When he heard Tracey get up he asked her, "Do you think Lupin has some non-contagious but incurable disease?"

"It is the only thing that makes sense," she replied. "I don't know what it might be, though."

"Neither do I. Still, we've got other things to think about. We should get started on those assignments as soon as possible."

After breakfast they returned to the Common Room. They spent whole morning working together on their potions assignment, using the notes they copied from the books they had borrowed from Snape's classroom the previous year. This assignment took all morning and after lunch they decided to take a break. After wandering around castle for nearly an hour. They managed to relocate the secret tunnel that ran from the castle to Honeydukes' sweet shop in Hogsmeade but decided against using it. Instead they went to the kitchens where they were greeted by the Hogwarts house elves. Both settled for a cup of tea and biscuits before deciding to visit Hagrid. They walked to his cabin through lightly falling snow and noticed the smoke from Hagrid's chimney was rising straight up. It was a cold, calm day with no wind.

When Harry knocked there was no reply. Harry called out, "Hagrid? Are you there?"

The sound of heavy footsteps made Harry step back from the door. Moment later it opened and Hagrid stood before them, his eyes red and swollen. When Hagrid saw them he said, "You've heard," and grabbed them into a bone breaking hug.

"Hagrid, stop," Tracey gasped. She and Harry managed to struggle free from his grip.

After breaking free Tracey noticed Hagrid was holding an official looking sheet of parchment. "Hagrid? What is that you're holding?" she asked.

Hagrid gave it to her, crying even harder. She read, **"Dear Mr. Hagrid.**

" **Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for this regrettable incident.**

" **However we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20** **th** **, and we ask that you present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committees offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.**

" **Yours in fellowship…"**

"Oh," Harry said.

"Is there anything we can do?" Tracey asked.

"Nah. Don' worry yerselves" Hagrid replied. "Ron Weasley an' Hermione Granger are already doin' wha' they can so yeh better off stayin' out o' it."

Sudden movement in the corner caught their attention. Both were startled to see a large creature curled up there. "Tha's Buckbeak," Hagrid said. He introduced Harry and Tracey to the hippogriff after giving them instructions on how to approach the creature. They found him quite placid and even friendly and decided Malfoy only had himself to blame for what had happened. Soon after this they returned to the castle.

 **Author's Note:** Text in bold is copied from PoA: Chapter 11: The Firebolt.


	8. 8 Scruffy

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 8: Scruffy**

 **Author's Note:** Starting with this chapter the Harry Slithers in series diverges significantly from canon. From now on only major incidents from the books will also occur here.

That night Tracey joined Harry in his dormitory. As usual she changed in the en-suite while Harry changed by his bed. When Harry finished dressing he told her she could come out. The two of them talked for a while before going to sleep.

In the morning Tracey went into the shower while Harry sorted some things out for the day. He was just about to enter the bathroom to use the other shower when Tracey came out with a towel wrapped around herself. "I forgot to bring a change of clothes," she explained as she headed out of the dormitory. Harry watched her leave – he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Before lunch Harry went to the library. An idea had occurred to him and he wanted to check some facts to see if they supported it. Tracey returned directly to the Common Room and read the book Harry had given her for her birthday.

After lunch they went out to visit Hagrid. They found him inside his cabin looking morose.

"Hagrid," Harry said when they entered, I've had an idea about how to help Buckbeak."

"Oh? Do yer think it'll work?"

"I think so. I'll have to talk to Draco and you will probably have to keep Buckbeak away from the students from now on but, apart from that, there shouldn't be any problems." Harry decided not to mention his being the Heir of Slytherin and that he would be trying to use this fact to his advantage.

For the remainder of their visit Harry and Tracey talked about their classes. Harry said if he'd known Hagrid would be teaching Care of Magical Creatures he would have taken this subject as well.

Harry and Tracey left Hagrid's hut. They decided to take the long way back to give them more time to think. Harry was wondering how best to use his influence as the Heir of Slytherin to help the hippogriff.

"I wish there was something we could do," Tracey said as they walked. "That hippogriff seems quite friendly. It would be a shame to see it killed because Malfoy wasn't listening."

"I was thinking that my being the Heir of Slytherin might help us here," Harry said.

"So that was your idea. It might be worth trying. If we could offer a compromise I'm sure Malfoy would be willing to accept it if he knew you supported it as the Heir."

They walked around the lake. About two thirds of the way round they heard a rustling of branches just ahead of them. Knowing the type of creatures that made their homes in the Forbidden Forest they both stopped and drew their wands. A few moments later a large black shape emerged from the trees not far from them. It caught sight of Harry and Tracey from froze, head turned towards them. Harry lowered his wand when he realised it was a just a dog but kept his distance.

The dog let out a low woof and slowly turned towards them. It looked at them as if uncertain whether it should approach or not. Harry took a cautious step forward. The dog watched his movement then stepped forward as well. When Tracey moved forward the dog stopped and eyed her suspiciously.

"Stay back," Harry told Tracey as he approached the dog. Now that only one of them was moving the dog relaxed slightly. Harry held out his hand and the dog cautiously approached, sniffing his hand. He rubbed the dog's chin and responded by closing its eyes and licking his hand. Up close Harry could see it was undernourished.

"Seems friendly enough," Harry said. Tracey approached and held out her hand for the dog to sniff.

"I think this might be that stray we've seen several times recently. I know quite a few people have met it at one time or another and it has always seemed friendly," Tracey added.

"It needs a decent feed; and it's probably half frozen," Harry said. "Should we take it to the Common Room with us?"

"I don't think Snape would like that," Tracey replied. "We can't leave it here, though. We might as well take it in for a while, anyway. Maybe Hagrid or one of the others will adopt it? We could ask around."

They led the dog to the Castle. When they got to the Entrance Hall the dog immediately headed toward the main staircase but Harry called it back and led it to the dungeon. When they entered the Common Room the dog looked around before heading over to the fireplace where it lay down.

"It seems you were right about him being half frozen," Tracey said.

"What should we call him?" Harry asked.

"He looks pretty scruffy. Why don't we call him that for now?"

"Okay, Scruffy it is. We better get him something to eat."

"I'll go," Tracey said as she left for the kitchens.

When she returned she was carrying a plate of corned beef and veges. "The elves insisted on giving me vegetables when I asked for a plate of leftover meat," she explained.

Scruffy sat up as she placed the meat on the hearth rug. As soon as she stepped back he fell on the meat with a vengeance. Tracey and Harry couldn't help laughing as he wolfed it down. Tracey put the plate down and Scruffy started eating the vegetables as well. "He really is hungry," Harry said.

"Looks like he hasn't eaten in a while," Tracey agreed.

Harry produced a bowl which he filled with water from his wand. Scruffy eagerly lapped it up so Harry created some more water. "Don't give him too much," Tracey said. "All that water has to go somewhere."

Realising she was right Harry removed the bowl once it was empty. Scruffy looked at him with a doleful expression. "Sorry boy, but we can't have you leaving puddles everywhere."

"So how are we going to take care of this 'need'?" Tracey asked.

"We could let him out at night. Or we could set aside some newspapers near the fire."

"I think letting him out would be the better idea although we could try the newspaper."

Both made sure to take extra food from the dinner table to feed Scruffy that evening. As there were so few people still in the castle it was easy for them to slip the extra food into a bag without being noticed. Scruffy quickly ate through what they brought him, though, and they both made separate trips to the kitchens for extras.

"He really was hungry, wasn't he?" Harry said while they watched him eat.

"I wonder when he last had a proper meal?" asked Tracey.

"Quite some time ago by the looks of it."

"What should we do long term, though? You know Snape will never let us keep a dog and we are both attending that New Year's party the Daphne's parents are hosting."

"Do you think they will let us bring him along?"

Tracey shook her head. "My uncle only keeps smaller animals. A dog the size of Scruffy wouldn't be welcome."

"The Dursleys will never let me keep him, either. I suppose we could give him to Hagrid. Or perhaps one of the other teachers might take him?"

"We should ask Hagrid first," Tracey replied. "He already has all sorts of big animals and he seems to always want more. Remember Norbert?"

Harry and Tracey both laughed. Scruffy appeared to have been following the conversation but their laughter seemed to have confused him.

"We had better start on our assignments," Harry said as he stood up and headed towards his dormitory. Tracey followed him.

"I hope Scruffy doesn't try and eat our homework. I don't think of the professors will accept the excuse; 'the dog ate it', will they?" she said.

"Especially when we aren't even supposed to have a dog," Harry added.

When they returned to the Common Room they found Scruffy waiting for them by the doorway. "If he keeps following us around we may have to take him to Hagrid's sooner rather than later," Tracey said when she saw this.

The two of them sat side by side at one of the tables. Scruffy watched them briefly before returning to the fire where he lay down. After a few moments he settled down to watch them studying.

"Should we start with something easy?" Harry asked.

"Might as well. Lupin's DADA assignment looks fairly straightforward." Tracey replied

Harry noticed Scruffy look up again as they were talking. He hoped the dog stayed by the fire.

"I was thinking about why Professor Lupin always seems to be absent around the end each month," Harry said after a few minutes. "I did some research and I have a theory. I think his absences might have something to do with the full moon."

"Hm," Tracey said. "What makes you think that?"

"Recently the full moon has been occurring during the last week or so of the month. I noticed he was present in the Great Hall today but then again the full moon is almost a week away. Then I remembered that assignment Snape set the Gryffindors that time when he covered Lupin's class. I remembered that it was about werewolves."

"Do you think Professor Lupin is a werewolf?" As Tracey was speaking Harry looked at Scruffy and was surprised to see the dog almost looked as if he were listening to everything they said. Harry thought this was unusual but decided not to mention it to her.

"The facts do seem to add up to this," Harry said. "Remember that potion Snape made for him? I was thinking it might be the Wolfsbane potion."

Tracey thought for a few minutes before replying. "If he is a werewolf the Wolfsbane would allow him to retain his mind while his body became a wolf. I suppose that could make it safe for him to be around people but it would still be a risk. There are a lot of things that could go wrong."

"Even if I'm right there is nothing we can do. We would need conclusive proof before we do anything. If we go public with our suspicions and are proven wrong we would get into a lot of trouble."

"Let's just forget about it then," Tracey said, finishing their conversation. Harry noticed the whole time they had been talking Scruffy had seemed to be paying careful attention. Now they were finished the dog appeared to have settled down again. Harry couldn't help thinking Scruffy had understood them even though he knew this wasn't possible.

That evening Harry packed away his assignments and headed up to his dormitory. Tracey did the same thing moments later leaving Scruffy in front of the fire. After making sure Harry wasn't already getting changed for bed she entered the room and picked her clothes bag. She had made sure she had a fresh set of clothes this time, having forgotten the previous evening.

Once Tracey had entered the en-suite Harry got changed. Just as he was finishing he heard the handle on the door to the corridor turn. Quickly pulling out his wand he said, "Who's out there." He said that partly to alert Tracey to the fact there was someone there and that she should stay where she was. A moment later the door opened and Scruffy walked into the room. He had a look around before settling on the floor near Harry's bed.

"Scruffy? What are you doing in here?" Harry said.

"Did you say Scruffy?" Tracey called from the en-suite. When she spoke Scruffy's ears pricked up.

"Yeah. It turns out Scruffy can open doors."

Tracey stepped into the room wearing her usual pink pyjamas and knelt down by Scruffy. "Clever boy. Closed doors aren't a barrier to you are they?" She stroked his head before climbing into Blaise's bed.

Harry climbed into his own bed and said, "Goodnight, Tracey; goodnight Scruffy."

"Goodnight Harry; see you in the morning. You too, Scruffy." They turned the lights out and went to sleep.


	9. 9 Christmas Dinner

**Author's Notes:** 1\. Guest. I too wonder about that and yes your assumption is right.

2\. Christmas chapter published on Christmas day.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 9: Christmas Dinner**

When they got up in the morning Harry and Tracey noticed Scruffy was no longer in the room. Tracey went to the Common Room to see if he was there.

While Tracey was out of the room Harry had readied everything he would need for his shower. He was just entering the en-suite when she returned.

"Scruffy is in front of the fire," she said. "He woke up when I entered but he stayed put. Obviously the Common Room is warmer than in here."

"It probably is. The beds all have warming charms on them but the rest of the room doesn't."

"It's the same in the girls' dorms too," Tracey said as she gathered her clothes and towel before heading into the shower.

Once both were finished they joined Scruffy in the Common Room. As it was still early they decided against going straight to the Great Hall and instead went back over their homework from the previous evening. Satisfied it was finished they packed it away before going to breakfast. As usual they both slipped a little extra food into their bags for Scruffy. Unfortunately this time Professor Snape noticed them.

"Is there a special reason you are putting food in your bags?" he asked while glaring at them.

"We thought by doing this we could save ourselves a trip here for lunch," Tracey replied.

Snape studied her intently. "If you are that lazy then perhaps you should spend more time exercising. A run around the grounds at lunchtime may make you appreciate the shortness of the distance from there to here."

"I think you are being somewhat harsh, Severus," Dumbledore said. "However, since they are both stockpiling I think it is safe to assume we will not be seeing them for lunch."

Harry and Tracey left the table and, after a side track to the kitchen, they returned to their Common Room where they gave most of the food they had gathered to Scruffy, keeping only enough for themselves for lunch.

"We will need to be more careful from now on," Harry said after a short while. "Snape is bound to be watching us more closely now."

"You might need your invisibility cloak next time you go for food," Tracey replied.

"It's a good thing Snape doesn't have the Marauder's Map."

The whole time Scruffy was watching them intently. Not for the first time Harry got the impression Scruffy could understand everything he and Tracey were saying.

Both of them took a trip to the kitchens under Harry's invisibility cloak during the day and, mid-afternoon, they took Scruffy for a walk around the school grounds, stopping off at Hagrid's only to find he had gone out. Their walk lasted an hour or so before they returned to the warmth of the Common Room. They left Scruffy in front of the fire when they headed down for dinner that evening. They were relieved the dog didn't want to follow them on this occasion.

Their regular routine hardly varied from that day until Christmas. Tracey continued sleeping in Harry's dormitory and they always slept in separate beds, used separate showers and got changed in different rooms. Scruffy seemed content to stay in the Common Room in front of the fire and never came wandering into the dormatories. Harry and Tracey spent most of their time in the Common Room finishing their assignments so that, by Christmas Eve, they had finished everything and were once again able to relax.

Tracey spent the night in her own dormitory leaving Harry alone in his room. The following morning Harry awoke to a stack of presents including several new items of clothing; some of the clothes he had received two years previously no longer fitted him and he had been dropping hints as to what items needed replacing. As he sorted through his presents he came across a long, thin package that had no note attached. Curious, he unwrapped it and found a brand new broomstick. It was a Firebolt just like the one he had seen in quality Quidditch supplies over the summer. As he was admiring the broom there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he called and Tracey entered with Scruffy at her heels.

"Merry Christmas, Harry. What's that?" she was looking at the broom.

"This is a Firebolt. Somebody gave me it for Christmas."

"That must have cost a fortune. I thought we all agreed to a 5 Galleon limit?"

"We did," Harry replied. "Whoever sent me this is not part of our group."

"Any idea who sent it?"

"No. There was no note or anything."

"Do you think it was Malfoy, lording his wealth over everyone?"

"I doubt it. Even Malfoy isn't that presumptuous."

"So, what are you going to do?" Tracey asked.

"Ride it I guess?" Scruffy had settled on the floor watching the two of them. When Harry said he was going to ride it the dog had stood up. Harry assumed it had merely reacted to his movements but, once again he couldn't help feeling Scruffy understood him.

Harry hopped on the broom and carefully flew it out of the dormitory and along the corridor to the Common Room. Tracey and Scruffy followed him.

"It flies ok," he said, "but I think I'll have breakfast first then decide where I'm going to go. Thank you for the new sweater by the way."

"I like that bracelet you got me. It goes well with some of my other jewellery."

After breakfast in the Great Hall they stopped by the kitchens to get some food for Scruffy. They ended up staying for several minutes and when they left they each had a bag of food for him. They managed to avoid any teachers on their return trip.

While Scruffy ate they planned their day. They decided that, after lunch, they would to go outside and try out the new broom. They would ride together until they reached the Main Entrance after which Harry would ride alone for a while before picking Tracey up for the longer flight.

When Harry landed after his solo flight he said, "It really is fast. I've never flown a broom like it before."

"Now fast can the Firebolt go?"

"Up to about 150 mph; and its acceleration is spectacular." Harry couldn't help feeling elated.

Before Tracey climbed on behind him Harry borrowed her scarf to protect his face from the cold air that whipped past on his solo flight. Tracey climbed on behind him and pressed her face into his shoulder so she wouldn't be too badly affected by the cold.

Once she was aboard Harry kicked off and shot into the air. He changed direction at high speed and was soon beside the Quidditch pitch and where he stopped. "What do you think of that?" he asked.

"That really is fast. I think I left my stomach behind by the castle, though," she replied, laughing.

"I think we should take it a bit more slowly from now on. That way we can enjoy the scenery more."

They spent the next hour flying around the grounds, soaring high over the castle, the lake and the forest but staying away from the boundaries where the Dementors were. From high up they could often see them on the ground and were able to keep well away from them. Eventually they landed back in front of the castle. Tracey climbed off while Harry decided to fly the broom back to the Common Room. When they entered, however, they were met by Professor Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon," Dumbledore said.

"Good afternoon, sir," they both replied.

"I was wondering where you got that broom from, Harry?" asked the Headmaster.

"It was a present sir," Harry replied.

"Who sent it to you?"

"I don't know."

"Somebody decides to give you a Firebolt for Christmas without telling you who they are and you decide to ride it around the grounds without having it checked out by a teacher?"

"I don't understand, sir. Is there a problem?"

"Did it not occur to you that somebody may have sent you a very fast racing broom specifically with the hope you may fall off and injure yourself?"

"No, sir. Is it that important?" Harry asked.

"Professor? Are you thinking that Sirius Black may have sent him this broom?" asked Tracey.

"I do not believe it is likely but it is not impossible. Sirius has already managed to get into the castle despite the Dementors surrounding the grounds. It is possible he may have sent it to you."

"I flew it around the Common Room and everything seemed ok then," Harry said. "After that I thought it would be better to take it outside and really try it out. I had no reason to doubt it would be safe."

"In future you would be better advised to be somewhat more cautious about unexpected gifts. It seems as if it would be safe for you to continue using it but in future you should be more aware of this sort of thing. You may go," Dumbledore finished.

Harry climbed off the broom as they set off for the Common Room. "I don't see how Black could have even purchased a broom. Let alone cursed it," Harry complained.

"Neither do I," Tracey agreed. "There are so many steps to doing that it just wouldn't be practical. And even if it was why buy the most expensive broom on the market? A cheaper broom would be less likely to arouse suspicion as well as saving him money."

"And a cheaper broom wouldn't have the same level of anti-tampering jinxes on it as the Firebolt. All racing brooms are designed with those protections now. I asked about that at Quality Quidditch Supplies over the summer holidays."

Back in the Common Room they settled in front of the fire with Scruffy. They spent the rest of the day feeding him from the food they had earlier obtained from the kitchens before retiring for the night.

Next day Tracey got the idea that, by riding his broom, Harry may be able to enter the girl's dormitory without setting off any alarms. When they returned from breakfast he tried it and found that he could indeed fly down the corridor. Tracey opened the door into her own dormitory and showed Harry the layout. Her bed was next to Daphne's on one side of the room with the other three against the opposite wall; Pansy's bed was in the middle. After about 20 minutes they returned to the Common Room.

They were scheduled to leave for the Greengrass' straight after lunch on December 31. The day before this they took Scruffy for a walk to Hagrid's house.

"Hello, Harry, Tracey," Hagrid said when he opened the door. "Who's this?"

"Hello, Hagrid," Harry said. "This is Scruffy. He is stray we found last week. We have been keeping him in the Common Room but we have to leave for a New Year's party at the Greengrass' tomorrow so we were wondering if you might like to keep him."

"He is very friendly and fully house trained," Tracey added.

Hagrid looked him over. "He's kinda thin, innie?"

"He's not as thin as when we found him," Tracey said. "Looked as if he hadn't eaten properly in weeks."

"I suppose I could introduce him to Fang. See if they get along, y'know."

"That would be good," Harry said.

Hagrid brought Fang to the door. The two dogs eyed each other cautiously but weren't aggressive.

"Seem t' be getting' along ok, don' they?" Hagrid said.

"They seem friendly enough," Harry said. "So, can we leave him with you?"

"Can' yer take' im with yeh?"

"No," Tracey said. "He wouldn't be welcome with the Greengrass' or with my mother or Harry's aunt and uncle."

"Tell yer what. Leave 'im here for now and we'll see how it goes."

"Thank you, Hagrid. We know you'll look after him," Harry said. "Maybe one of the other teachers might like him, too?"

"Maybe. Alright then you two, enjoy yer holidays," Hagrid said.

That evening they packed their trunks before going to bed so they wouldn't be rushed in the morning. Tracey returned to her own dormitory rather than share with Harry as had happened almost every night for nearly two weeks.

Lunch in the Great Hall on New Year's Eve was quieter than usual. After they finished Professor Snape escorted them to the gates where they walked quickly past the Dementors and down the path to Hogsmeade village where they were met by Tracey's mother who apparated them to their destination.


	10. 10 Scruffy Snape Detention

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 10: Scruffy + Snape = Detention**

New Year's at the Greengrass' passed quickly and soon it was time to return to Hogwarts for the new term. Harry travelled together with Robert, Tracey, Daphne and Astoria and they met up with several of their fellow Slytherins along the way. The group made their way towards the Common Room when they met Professor Snape.

"Potter, Davis, my office immediately."

They followed Snape to his office. "Sit," Snape said as moved to his desk. Harry and Tracey took the chairs indicated.

Snape glared at them before speaking. "The day you left here for the Greengrass' estate I attempted to enter the Common Room only to find the way barred by a large dog. This dog was standing outside the hidden entrance attempting also to enter the Common Room. I can only assume the two of you had something to do with this. Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. Tracey nodded ascent.

"This dog then proceeded to bark at me in an aggressive manner. Why did it do that?"

"I don't know sir. He has always been friendly to everyone," Harry said.

"And who, exactly, is everyone?"

Harry realised that, other than themselves, the only person they for certain had met Scruffy was Hagrid. "Well," Tracey began as Harry was thinking. "Hagrid knows him, and quite a few students have met him too and he has always seemed friendly. Perhaps he just doesn't like you, sir?"

Snape switched his glare to Tracey. "Doesn't like me? Why should that be true?"

"I don't know. Maybe there is something he can sense about you that he doesn't like?"

"You will both do detention with me tomorrow night. Be here at 8 o'clock sharp. And there will be no more cheeky comments from you, Miss Davis. Get out."

Harry and Tracey hurried out of the room. "I wonder why Scruffy doesn't like Snape." Harry asked.

"As I said maybe there is something about Snape that he doesn't like? Maybe he doesn't like greasy hair or sallow skin?"

They entered the Common Room where they found several people waiting for them. "So what did Snape want?" Robert asked.

"We found a stray dog roaming the grounds a couple of days after you all left. He looked frozen and half-starved so we took him in. We fed him and gave him a place to sleep," Tracey replied.

"We took the dog to Hagrid and asked if he would look after him while we were away," Harry said.

"Apparently after we left he came back into the castle and tried to get back in here."

"Snape found him outside the Common Room. Apparently he doesn't like Snape."

"Now we both have detention tomorrow night," she finished.

"That seems a bit harsh," Robert said.

"It's not as if the dog caused any damage, unless Snape has already repaired it," Daphne added.

"I doubt there is anything we can do about it now. We'll just have to do the detention," Harry said.

Next night saw Harry and Tracey writing a one page essay on what pets students were allowed to have at Hogwarts. Harry thought it could have been much worse so wrote his essay without complaint.

Their first DADA lesson for the new term produced a surprise. When they entered the classroom they noticed a large dog curled up in the corner. Harry recognised it immediately. "Scruffy? What are you doing here?"

"I see you've already met my new pet," Professor Lupin said. "I adopted him from Hagrid a few days ago. He does seem extremely friendly and he is a good companion."

Scruffy had hurried over to Harry as soon as he had spoken. He and Tracey were both patting the dog who seemed to be lapping up the attention. Even some of the Ravenclaws had approached him.

"Isn't this the same dog we sat with at the last Quidditch match?" Su Li, one of the Ravenclaws in the group, asked.

"I'm sure it is," Mandy Brocklehurst, another Ravenclaw, said. "He's a bit fatter now, though. Looks like he has had a few decent meals."

"Alright, everybody, settle down. You can play with the dog after class," Lupin finally said. The students returned to their seats and the lesson began.

At the end of the class Lupin spoke, "Harry, Tracey, I would like to speak to you two please. Once everybody has had a chance to stroke Scruffy could the two of you join me in my office?"

Nearly everybody wanted to stroke Scruffy so it took several minutes for the room to empty but, after a while, only Harry and Tracey were left. They followed Lupin into his office.

"Sit down," Lupin said. They took seats in front of Lupin's desk while Scruffy curled up in the corner. "I heard the two of you were asking about werewolves over the holidays. Is that correct?"

They were surprised. "We were just wondering if the reason you were absent so often near the end of the month right be some sort of incurable condition," Tracey began. "Are you telling us you are a werewolf?"

"I am," Lupin replied simply. "Do you know of any other students who have worked this out?"

"No," Harry replied.

"Hermione Granger is very smart," Tracey added. "She may have figured it out, too."

"I'll have to speak to her too then. In the meantime I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone," Lupin said. "The staff all know and Professor Snape is making me the Wolfsbane potion which does somewhat mitigate the effects. That is what you saw him giving me that day before Christmas when you were asking about the Patronus charm, Harry."

"Yes, sir," they both said. Harry was surprised Lupin had just come out and said it.

"Now there is one more thing I need to ask you about. Do you have the Marauder's Map with you?"

"The what, sir?" Harry asked trying not to sound too suspicious.

"The Marauder's Map, as presented by Messer's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," Lupin said.

"No," Harry said, deciding there was no point in hiding it. "Fred and George Weasley own it. They only lent it to us briefly last year." Tracey nodded her assent.

"I see," Lupin said, sounding amused. "For your information I know more about the map than either of you two. I'm Moony. I, along with my three closest friends, created it during our fifth year. They too found out about my condition and decided they should do whatever they could to help me for the remainder of our time as students."

Harry didn't know what to say to that. He turned to Tracey and saw she was just as surprised as he was.

Lupin smiled. "I believe you were interested in learning about the Patronus charm. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied.

"Can I learn it too?" Tracey asked.

"It will be difficult enough for me to teach one of you; it is very advanced magic after all. However, if you are willing to try then I will try to help you. Come to the History of Magic classroom after dinner on Thursday. I will meet you there."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said.

"We promise we will not tell anybody about you being a werewolf, sir," Tracey said before they left.

They returned to the Common Room where they met their year mates. "So what did Lupin want?" Daphne asked.

"Before Christmas I asked Professor Lupin about the Patronus charm," Harry began. "I asked him to teach me how to cast it in case the dementors show up within the grounds again."

"That's pretty advanced magic," Daphne said, sounding both impressed and sceptical. "Do you really think you can master it?"

"I'm going to try," Harry replied.

"I decided I want to learn it too," Tracey added. "We are going to meet him Thursday evening for our first lesson."

"Well, best of luck. I have enough trouble with the homework we are already getting without trying to learn that kind of advanced magic," said Daphne.

Thursday evening came and at the designated time Harry and Tracey left the Common Room. By now most of the students knew they were trying to learn the Patronus charm and most of them felt it was a waste of time. It was believed they didn't have enough experience to be able to master such advanced magic.

They arrived before Professor Lupin so, after lighting all the lamps, they sat at desks and waited. Lupin arrived moments later carrying a large trunk which he placed near Professor Binns' desk.

"I have spent the last few days looking for a boggart and I finally found one," Lupin said. "Harry, you told me the thing you feared the most was a dementor so, when I open this trunk, the boggart will see you and turn into a dementor. That should provide a realistic enough substitute for you to practice against."

Harry nodded. He wasn't entirely happy but at least it wasn't the real thing.

"The charm is; 'Expecto Patronum', and the wand movement is thus." Professor Lupin made a clear sweeping movement with his wand and a faint silvery mist appeared briefly. "I want you both to practice that."

They made the gesture and said "Expecto Patronum," but nothing happened.

"That's it," Lupin continued. "In order for the charm to be effective you must concentrate on a happy memory. I want each of you to think of the happiest memory you have then, when you are ready, you will attempt to cast the spell. Don't worry if nothing happens the first time you try. This is very advanced magic after all."

Harry struggled to think of a happy memory. Certainly nothing from his time with the Dursleys would count and the only memories he had of his parents were around their deaths. He finally decided on the time Hagrid had told him he was a wizard. Seeing Hagrid smash down the door to the cabin they were in and giving Dudley a pig's tale was certainly amusing.

After a moment Lupin said, "Are you ready, Harry?"

"Harry quickly brought his mind back into the present. "Yes sir."

"All right then, I'm opening the trunk."

Lupin lifted the lid and a huge hooded figure rose out. Harry felt the room go freezing cold and he could hear his mother pleading with Voldemort. Trying hard to remember his happy memory Harry said, "Expecto Patronum." Nothing happened. He tried again but couldn't manage it. His mind was falling into a seemingly bottomless pit. Everything was cold and loud. He passed out.

Harry awoke with a very sore head. He wondered what had happened and how he came to be laying on the floor. He tried to sit up.

"Take it easy, Harry," Lupin said. "Here, eat this."

Lupin gave him a chocolate frog which he bit into. Tracey sat nearby eating a chocolate frog and looking very pale.

"That memory obviously wasn't happy enough," Lupin said. "Nor was yours, Tracey, although you were not as badly affected. I suggest you both take a few minutes before we try again."

After a short break they got back into it. Harry was still struggling to think of a positive memory. This time he decided on the first time he rode a broom. Once again Lupin opened the trunk and the boggart became a dementor.

"Expecto Patronum," Harry said again. He concentrated hard on the memory but it wasn't working. He staggered backwards and passed out with his mother's screams still ringing in his ears.

He woke up soon after and Lupin gave him another chocolate frog. Tracey was sitting by him holding his hand and looking very upset. "I think this is too hard," she said. "I don't think I'm ready for this."

"I think we should leave it there for now," Lupin said. "This really is very advanced magic and I think you both need more time to prepare."

Tracey holding his hand made Harry think of something that happened during their first year. It was the night they returned to the Common Room after finding the Mirror of Erised and being caught by Dumbledore. The memory of seeing Tracey nearly naked was certainly a happy one.

"Can I try one more time, Professor?" Harry asked. "I know I can do better."

Lupin looked at Harry. "I don't think so, no. If you want to continue you can come back here next week but, until then, I think you should just concentrate on your normal school work."

"But…"

"Good night Harry; good night Tracey."

"Good night, sir."


	11. 11 Shocking Revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 11: Shocking Revelations**

The next week saw Harry back in Quidditch training. Their upcoming match would be against Hufflepuff and, despite what Montague had said about not being worried by the Hufflepuff team, this match would likely determine who won the Quidditch cup this year. He knew everybody else would be hoping Hufflepuff would win since this would result in them having two wins and leave Slytherin with one, the same as Gryffindor assuming they got their expected win over Ravenclaw the weekend before. This would also give Hufflepuff a good chance of retaining their title. If Slytherin won they would have two wins and would be odds on to win the title.

When he wasn't training for Quidditch he had his homework to do. Usually this involved setting aside a couple of hours each night but, as the term continued, he had found this was no longer enough time. Already he was using every free period he had to do homework but it was beginning to take its toll. He seriously considered not continuing with his attempts to learn the Patronus charm but he was eager to see if the new memory he had thought of was strong enough to be used.

Thursday evening he, along with Tracey, returned to the History of magic classroom. This time they found Lupin waiting for them. "Good evening," Lupin said when they entered.

"Good evening, sir," they both replied.

"Have you been able to practice on your own since last time?"

"No," Harry said. "With all the homework we are getting I just haven't had the time, and now I have Quidditch practice as well."

Lupin looked over them. "And yet you still want to do this extra class."

"Yes sir. I want to be able to do something about the dementors, even if it is only enough to get me to a safe place."

"Very well, then. Are you ready?" Lupin asked as he stepped over to the trunk.

Harry and Tracey both nodded. Lupin opened the trunk and the boggart rose out in the form of a dementor. Harry concentrated on the memory of Tracey from first year and said, "Expecto Patronum."

A silvery mist shot from his wand and formed into a barrier. Although it had no definite form it was strong enough to stop the dementor and begin pushing it back. Harry could feel the exertion begin to take its toll on him and he stepped back. Tracey stepped up and the dementor vanished, turning into a creepy clown that leered at her.

Lupin shouted "Riddiculus," and the clown boggart turned into a balloon which Lupin forced back into the trunk.

After a short pause Lupin said, "Well done, Harry. You managed to stop the dementor and, even though your patronus lacked a definite form, it was none-the-less good enough. You should be very proud of your achievement."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied. "I am rather tired, however."

"How do you feel, Tracey," Lupin asked.

"A little shaky," she admitted. "I don't know if I'm ready for this yet."

"You're both only third years; I wouldn't expect you to be able to perform such advanced magic yet. Do you feel up to trying again?"

"I don't know," Tracey replied, sounding nervous.

"Professor? Would be possible to try and cast the spell without the dementor?" Harry asked.

"It is possible to do it that way, but you would only get a basic idea of how to cast it," Lupin explained.

"I think that might be better for now at least," Harry said.

Tracey was the first to try it this way. She managed to produce a mist without definite form but it was an improvement on her previous attempt. Harry then tried and his Patronus took on an animal form but it was too indistinct to make out exactly what it was. He thought it might be a dog like animal but couldn't be sure.

"I think we'll leave it there for now," Lupin said after a few minutes. "You have both shown significant improvement and, if you keep trying, you will eventually be able to cast a corporeal Patronus."

"What is a corporeal Patronus?" Tracey asked.

"It is a patronus with definite form, usually the form of an animal. Something that gives you comfort when you are with it. Often people's patronises resemble a favourite pet or something like that."

"Thank you, Professor. Goodnight," Harry and Tracey both said as they left.

The following weekend, after Quidditch training, Harry was in the library catching up on homework. Theo, Blaise, Daphne and Tracey were with him as usual and, sitting at a nearby table, was Hermione Granger. Harry could see she was working on Arithmancy but right next to her was an open Divination book. Since Hermione was in both of Harry's classes, and because Divination was on at the same time as Ancient Runes, Harry was curious as to why she had a Divination book. He shrugged. He, along with his fellow Slytherins, had long since given up trying to work out her timetable. He returned to his own work.

Monday afternoon's Transfiguration class started off with a surprise. When they entered the classroom they found Professor Dumbledore sitting next to Professor McGonagall.

"Good afternoon, class. As you can see we have a special guest with us today. Professor Dumbledore will be sitting in on this lesson as we will be learning an important and very useful spell."

'This should be interesting,' Harry thought as he took his usual seat between Theo and Tracey. He could see from the expressions of the others around him they too thought his might be an interesting lesson.

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall continued, "do you have your pet rat with you?"

"Yes, Professor," Ron Weasley said, sounding surprised.

"Please place him on my desk." McGonagall indicated the space in front of her. Ron walked to the front with Scabbers seemingly tried to get away from him.

When Ron placed Scabbers on the desk Professor McGonagall pinned the rat in place with her own hand. Scabbers was squeaking frantically as if he was afraid. "What are you doing to him?" Ron demanded.

By way of reply Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at Scabbers who disappeared in a flash of light, being replaced moments later by a man.

"Scabbers?" Ron said in a shocked voice. Every other student in the class, Harry included, let out a gasp of surprise.

"Hello, Peter," Dumbledore began calmly. "You look in remarkably good health for someone who has been dead for 12 years."

Professor McGonagall stunned the man, Peter, who was making a desperate attempt to escape. Peter crashed into the front row of desks where a number of Gryffindors, including Hermione Granger, were seated. They jumped away from him as quickly as they could. For several moments the class was in chaos before the teachers managed to regain control.

"As you can see," Professor McGonagall said once order was restored, "this man is an Animagus and the charm Professor Dumbledore demonstrated is called the Homorphus charm. It is used to force an Animagus to resume their human form. The Ministry of Magic keeps a record of all known Animagi in Britain and Ireland but, as you have just seen, not all Animagi register. To be an unregistered Animagus is a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of one year in Azkaban and a fine of up 1000 Galleons. In the case of this animagus," she pointed to the unconscious man lying on the floor, "he will also be facing a number of more serious charges due to his previous history."

"For your information," Professor Dumbledore put in, "this man is Peter Pettigrew, one of 13 people allegedly murdered by Sirius Black a little over 12 years ago."

"For homework tonight, I want two rolls of parchment on the correct use of the Homorphus charm including what it can and cannot be used for. Mr. Weasley, please stay behind. I wish to speak to you after class. The rest of you are dismissed," McGonagall finished.

Everybody in Slytherin was in a hurry to leave. Many Gryffindors, however seemed to want to stay behind. Harry left with his housemates. As they left they met two tall man in Ministry robes. "Aurors," Draco Malfoy said as they passed them. "They must be here to pick up what's-his-name."

They learnt more about the events from the classroom later that day. Apparently all the teachers were aware of the trap that had been set and those who had Weasleys in their class had been asked to send them to Professor McGonagall's classroom at a specific time so all five Weasley children would be present when the Aurors took Pettigrew away for questioning. They also learnt that it had been Professor Lupin who had initially discovered Pettigrew alive in the castle.

Harry realised, too, that Professor Lupin's inquiry about whether Harry had the Marauder's Map must be related to this incident. "So, now we know why Lupin wanted the Marauder's Map," he said to Tracey when they finally managed some alone time together.

"How long do you think he's known about it?" she asked.

"I would guess since about Christmas. I still don't know how he found out we had seen the map in the first place, however. Apart from us only Granger and the Weasleys knew about it."

"My best guess would be Ron told him. But why Ron would do that, I have no idea," Tracey said.

"What about Granger?" Harry asked. "She is much more of a stickler for the rules than Weasley would ever be."

"I'm not certain Granger even knows of the map. Fred and George don't seem like the type of people who would trust anyone with something so useful; and probably illegal."

"How could it be illegal?"

"It's an enchanted artefact that contains many secrets about the school. Lupin said he and his friends created it while they were students so his friends would be able to help him during his werewolf transformations. That in itself makes me think they were involved in certain illegal activities while they were students. I wonder if there are more unregistered animagi running around and if they went by the names Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?"

Thursday evening Harry and Tracey went to the History of Magic classroom for their weekly Patronus lesson. Professor Lupin was waiting for them with Scruffy when they arrived.

"Good evening," Lupin began. "I understand you've had an eventful week."

"That would be an understatement," Harry said. Tracey agreed.

"I have another surprise for you tonight and I think this is more important than trying to master the Patronus charm," Lupin said. "You see, I told you a few weeks ago that I was Moony, one of the creators of the Marauder's map. Well tonight I'm going to tell you who the other three Marauders were. Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew; you met him a couple of days ago. He was your parents' secret keeper, Harry, not Sirius Black, and Wormtail was the one who betrayed them to Lord Voldemort."

Both Harry and Tracey were surprised to learn this but, before they could speak, Lupin continued.

"Padfoot was Sirius Black; the man now cleared of those murders for which he was imprisoned. Prongs, Harry, was your father."

"My father?"

"That's right. I would like you both to meet someone now." Lupin turned to Scruffy. "I think it's time for Harry to know the truth, don't you agree, my old friend?"

Harry was about to ask what Lupin meant by that but, before he could ask it, the question was answered. Scruffy transformed into a man. A man whom Harry had only ever seen in wanted posters. A man named Sirius Black. "Hello, Harry." Black's voice was weak and scratchy. "Thank you for taking me in and feeding me over Christmas. You too, Tracey."


	12. 12 The Marauders

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 12: The Marauders**

Harry let out a shout of shock. Tracey gasped and stepped back. Instinctively Harry stepped in front of her drawing his wand.

"You won't need that, Harry," Lupin said. "Do you think I'd allow Sirius in here if I thought he was a threat to you or Tracey?"

Sirius seemed almost to be laughing. "Good reactions, Harry. I see chivalry is not yet dead," he said.

"What is he doing in here?" Harry asked Lupin.

"I invited Sirius to meet up with you officially in a controlled environment. You have already spent a significant amount of time together without realising it, after all," Lupin replied.

"I think it's time for formal introductions," Sirius said. "I am Sirius Black, head of the Ancient and Noble house of Black; best friend of James and Lily Potter and, most importantly, I am your Godfather and legal guardian, Harry. And, incidentally, I bought you that Firebolt."

Harry didn't know what to make of this. Tracey stepped out from behind him and said. "Mr. Black? How long have been living here at Hogwarts?"

"Since the day the two of you found me in the grounds and took me to your Common Room. Before that I was living in the Shrieking Shack and sneaking out from there to wander the town and school grounds. I have been scavenging for food and information while trying to work out how to catch Wormtail. I admit that at times I hadn't been thinking clearly about what I was doing and I deeply regret damaging the portrait that guards the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. I have already apologised to Professor Dumbledore for that, by the way." Sirius seemed to have finally run out of breath.

"What do you mean by legal guardian?" Harry asked.

"In your parents' wills it was stated that, if anything should happen to them, I was to be given custody of you. It would then have been my duty to find a suitable place for you if I was unable to cope."

"In that case, were you responsible for sending me to the Dursleys?"

"No. When I arrived at your parents' cottage in Godric's Hollow Hagrid was already there. I haven't had the chance to ask him how he got there so quickly yet but I will be. Anyway, it was Dumbledore who decided you should go to them. I tried arguing the point but Hagrid said he had his orders."

"What happened after that?" Harry asked.

"In the end I gave in and went after Pettigrew. When I caught up with him he blew up the whole street after accusing me of betraying James and Lily. I was too shocked by what had happened to think straight. That was why the Aurors thought I was laughing when they arrived."

"Surely, at your trial, you had the opportunity to speak in your own defence," Tracey said.

Sirius Laughed, his laugh sounding like a dog's bark. "What trial? I was sent straight to Azkaban and they just left me there."

"That's not even legal." Tracey sounded both shocked and angry. "Who decided that?"

"Barty Crouch. At that time he was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He sent quite a few people to Azkaban rather than give them a trial."

"At this moment every person Crouch sent to Azkaban is having their case reviewed," Lupin put in. "So far nobody else has been found to be innocent, and over half the cases have now been reviewed."

"What gave Dumbledore the right to send me to the Dursleys?" Harry asked. His anger at the Headmaster was now rising.

"Your parents went into hiding under a Fidelius charm and he thought I was the Secret Keeper," Sirius replied. "James, Lily and I discussed what we were going to do. Originally I was to be Secret Keeper but we agreed that I was too obvious a choice. At that time nobody knew who they could trust so the three of us decided to tell only Wormtail and ask him to be Secret Keeper, something he agreed to immediately. Our logic was that nobody would consider such a weak, snivelling coward would be trusted with such a responsibility so we thought it was the perfect bluff. We didn't know Wormtail was the traitor. That was also why Remus here wasn't informed of the change."

"You thought I was the traitor?" Lupin asked.

"Yes," Sirius replied. "I'm sorry, I should have trusted you more than I did."

"Why didn't Dumbledore ensure you were given a trial?" asked Tracey.

"He was convinced I was guilty." Sirius gave his shortest reply yet, something Harry was quick to notice.

"So, rather than ensuring justice prevailed, he decided to sit back and do nothing? Meanwhile I was stuck with the Dursleys. He never bothered checking on me either."

"Harry," Lupin said sharply. "Professor Dumbledore is a very busy man with many different responsibilities. You cannot expect him to intervene personally every time something happens."

"Do you want to stay with the Dursleys, Harry?" Sirius asked before Harry could respond to Lupin.

"No. Mrs. Davis knows how I'm treated there. She works for the Ministry and has visited me at Privet Drive a couple of times. Ask her if you want to know how they treat me."

"My mother has reported to her superiors what she has seen about how the Dursleys treat Harry," Tracey said. "Nothing ever seems to happen, though."

"I've got a house in London," Sirius said. "It's pretty run down and will need a lot of work to bring it up a habitable standard but, once it's ready, you are welcome to live there with me if you like."

"How long will it take?" Harry asked, his excitement clearly showing through.

Sirius was surprised by Harry's response. "You're that keen to leave the Dursleys?"

"Anything would be better than staying with them."

"Harry," Lupin interrupted. "You may not like living with the Dursleys but Professor Dumbledore has his reasons for keeping you there. I don't know if you're aware of the enchantments that exist around Privet Drive but they are quite extensive and very powerful."

"I know about them. Nobody bearing the Dark Mark can approach within about a half mile of the house. How hard would it be though to place those enchantments around a different house?"

"Only Professor Dumbledore can answer that question. He personally placed them around Privet Drive in the hours after your parents were killed. That was one of the reasons there was an almost 24 hour delay from when Hagrid and Sirius arrived in Godric's Hollow and you being placed with the Dursleys," Lupin explained.

"So it would take about 24 hours to get similar enchantments placed around Sirius' house, Harry said.

"I could easily enhance them myself after Dumbledore or whoever is finished. I own the house so I can make whatever changes I want, including the Fidelius Charm," Sirius added.

"How soon can I move in?" Harry asked.

"I'll try and have the place in fit condition by the end of June."

"All this assumes Dumbledore approves of the change," Lupin said.

"Why shouldn't he?" asked Harry.

"I got the impression he wants you to stay with the Dursleys. He wouldn't tell me why, though."

"We should ask Professor Snape to arrange a meeting with Dumbledore. That way we can find out exactly why he wants you to stay," Tracey said.

"I doubt Snivellus will be very cooperative," Sirius said "He doesn't like me."

"If you keep calling him that he definitely won't be willing to help. And remember we have students present, Sirius," Lupin said.

The rest of the lesson was spent going over their previous attempts to cast the Patronus charm, intermingled with discussions about Harry's parents. As far as Harry was concerned learning about his parents was far more important and interesting than the spell.

Saturday afternoon Harry got his appointment to see the Headmaster. After Quidditch training and a quick shower he was escorted to Dumbledore's office by Professor Snape. When they arrived they found Sirius already there.

"Good afternoon, Harry. Please sit down," Dumbledore said when they entered.

Harry sat in the middle chair facing Dumbledore. Snape and Sirius sat either side of him.

"I have been told you were the person who decided I should be sent to the Dursleys. Sirius has told me he is my guardian and I want to know why I can't stay with him from now on, sir."

"Harry," Dumbledore began. "The protections I put in place on Privet Drive cannot be transferred to another house. They are keyed specifically to your aunt who is your closest living relative. While you call this place your home you are protected far better than you could be anywhere else."

"I can put very high levels of protection in place on my house, Dumbledore, including the Fidelius charm which is something I know Privet Drive doesn't have. Harry will be perfectly safe with me," Sirius said.

"I would not consider Potter or anyone else to be safe with a man who has spent 12 years in Azkaban," Snape said. "At least not alone, anyway."

Sirius opened his mouth to speak but Dumbledore cut him off. "It is not a matter of whether or not Harry would be safe with Sirius. My main concern is and always has been ensuring that he is kept safe from anyone who might want to harm him."

"Then why was I sent to the Dursleys in the first place?" Harry demanded. "They have done nothing to help me since I arrived there."

"Petunia took you in, Harry," Dumbledore said. "In doing so she guaranteed your safety until you were ready to return to the wizarding world. In that respect she has done a great deal to help you."

"Do you consider treating me like a slave to be helpful?"

"Being able to live in the same house as your closest living blood relative, even if the arrangement is not to the liking of either party, is the best thing for you both. Not only are you safe while you live under Petunia's roof but she and her family are safe too. Harry do you not think that a Death Eater would consider the chance to take a member of your family hostage an opportunity too good to refuse. You may not like them but you need them and they need you."

"Headmaster," Snape said. "Although I agree with you that Potter should remain at the Dursleys and that Black is in no way a suitable guardian, allowing him some leeway may ultimately be to his advantage. Perhaps Potter could stay with Black for a few weeks over summer?"

"What is the minimum amount of time Harry needs to stay with the Dursleys?" Sirius asked. Harry noticed he was watching Snape with a degree of surprise.

Before replying Dumbledore took a moment as if reviewing his options. "It should be at least one month, although a shorter period may be sufficient."

"One month. In other words Harry's birthday would be a suitable day to collect him," Sirius said.

"That should be appropriate," Dumbledore said.

Sirius turned to Harry. "I promise you now that, on your birthday, I will personally collect you from the Dursleys and take you to my family mansion in London. Before that day i will guarantee I check on your welfare at least once a week with personal visit."

"All right," Harry replied. "I will hold you to that promise, Sirius." Harry was thinking how the Dursleys would react when a mass murderer suddenly turned up on their doorstep. He decided not to inform them of the fact Sirius was innocent until he actually arrived for the first time.

"I have a few things to sort out with the Ministry of Magic," Sirius said. "Dumbledore, can I count on your support for this?"

"Of course you can, Sirius. It is the least I can do for you considering the fact I let you down so badly 12 years ago. I should have insisted you and all other accused Death Eaters were given a fair trial."

"If we are finished here I shall escort Potter back to the Common Room. I have some assignments to mark and I want to get them done," Snape said.

Harry and Professor Snape left the Headmaster's office. As they walked Snape said, "I do not like Sirius Black. However, as he is your 'guardian' I do think you should spend time with him. Be warned, Potter, it is likely much of what he tells you will be coming from a 'colourful' point of view and should not be taken literally."

"Of course. Thank you, sir," Harry replied as they parted company.


	13. 13 The Second Term and Easter

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 13: The Second Term and Easter Holidays**

Harry told Tracey the outcome of his meeting with Dumbledore, adding that his birthday party would probably be held at Sirius' place. He would Owl her once the details were confirmed. He also informed the others of what had happened. Draco asked to speak to him alone so they went for a walk around the lake.

"Potter, I think I told you earlier in the year that Sirius was my mother's cousin," Malfoy began. "I would like the opportunity to speak to him myself to discuss the family situation. Could you contact him for me and set up a meeting?"

"Why don't you ask your mother to do that?" Harry asked.

"I would prefer if she and especially my father didn't know about it, at least not before it happened."

Harry thought it over. "I could get in touch with him, but I know he has a lot to sort out so it probably won't happen for a while. I would guess the end of next week would probably be the earliest it could happen."

"One week would be ok. That isn't too long a delay."

"I'll send him an owl as soon as we get back to the Common Room."

"Thank you, Potter. I appreciate your help."

Harry soon got back into his normal routine. Quidditch training took up two evenings a week as well as Sunday morning. Saturday was spent mainly on homework with Sunday afternoon set aside for finishing things off if he hadn't already done so. He decided to continue with Patronus lessons on Thursday evening and the more time he spent practicing the better he became.

Two weeks after Lupin had introduced Harry to Sirius Harry received a letter from him saying the Ministry had cleared him of the charges he was sent to Azkaban for. A sizable compensation pay-out had been made which Sirius had accepted with some provisions. These included complimentary tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final which Britain would be hosting in August (top box – the best seats in the house) and help with bringing the Black family mansion up to a habitable standard. Sirius also said he would be applying to resume his former career as an auror. Harry replied saying he was happy for Sirius and was looking forward to seeing him soon.

Early in March there was a Hogsmeade visit. Although he knew the dementors had now been removed from the grounds Harry was worried that not all of them were gone. He left with a group of his fellow Slytherins and decided to stay with them during the day. It turned out thought there were no dementors in Hogsmeade and he was able to enjoy a relaxing morning.

After lunch he set off with Tracey to look at the Shrieking Shack, supposedly the most haunted building in Britain but he already knew that wasn't true. Sirius had told him there were no ghosts there and, since Sirius had been living in the shack for several months, Harry had no reason not to believe him.

When they reached the shack they found Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger standing outside the fence looking at the building. They joined them.

"What a rundown dump," Ron said.

"But it is supposed to be haunted, and the ghosts in there are said to be especially violent," Hermione said. "Even the Hogwarts ghosts never visit it. If that is true then I doubt many people would want to go in there anyway."

"Sirius Black told us the truth about the Shrieking Shack," Harry said. "He said the stories of ghosts are not true. He should know, too, since he was living there for several months while plotting ways to catch Pettigrew."

"Black was living there?" Hermione sounded surprised. "Didn't anyone check the shack while they were searching for him?"

"Apparently not," Tracey said. "Even if they had all they would have found would have been a half-starved stray dog. Nobody would arrest a dog for trying to stay out of the cold."

Moments later they heard voices from nearby. Soon after, Malfoy stepped into view with Crabbe and Goyle at his sides. "Potter, Davis, Weasley, Granger," Malfoy said when he saw them.

"Malfoy," Harry said. "We were just talking about how Sirius Black was living here while he was hiding out from the Ministry."

"No wonder nobody found him, then," Malfoy replied. "Nobody would willingly go in there unless they were desperate."

"Sirius was," Tracey said. "Now, though, he's a free man."

"I think it's time we left," Hermione said, indicating Ron should join her. "Thank you for telling us about the recent history of the Shrieking Shack, Harry, it was fascinating." She and Ron quickly started walking back towards Hogsmeade leaving the five Slytherins behind.

Malfoy turned to Harry. "Did Black say how he got into the shack?"

"Some of the boards covering the windows have come loose over time," Harry replied. "He was able to pry some of them off and climb in, then he sealed off that room and only returned to it when he wanted to leave."

Malfoy nodded. "So there are no secret tunnels or anything like that?"

"Not as far as we know. Sirius never mentioned anything like that."

"Shall we all go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink?" Tracey suggested. "It is starting to snow again." They headed back into town, discussing Sirius as they went.

Harry was going to ask Malfoy about his meeting with Sirius but decided to wait until he could talk alone. The opportunity for that came up after Quidditch practice the following morning. Harry and Draco left together and, as soon as they were out of earshot, Harry asked about it.

"It went fairly well," Malfoy said. "Black agreed to help me with a problem I have and that's the end of it." Harry realised Draco wasn't going to tell him any more so he let it rest.

The week before Slytherin were to play Hufflepuff; Gryffindor comfortably defeated Ravenclaw. This meant they still had a chance to win the Quidditch cup if they defeated Slytherin in the last match of the season. The Slytherin captain, Montague, remained convinced that Gryffindor was the main threat to their title but Harry thought otherwise and told Draco of his feelings.

"I tend to agree, Potter," Malfoy said. "Montague has his eyes set too far ahead and he's not looking at the immediate obstacle. Still, that obstacle is Hufflepuff so I don't think we need to worry too much. Let's just make sure it's a short game."

"The bigger our winning margin the better, though," Harry reminded him. "I hope Montague remembers to concentrate on his game."

"Make sure you catch the snitch. That would be the easiest way to guarantee a big winning margin."

"I will. I know that if I don't I get dropped and you replace me."

"Make sure you remember that, Potter. I would rather play seeker than chaser, you know."

The day of the Hufflepuff v. Slytherin match was cold and calm with the sun trying to break through the clouds. This meant the light levels were likely to change during the match which would make the seeker's job more difficult. Harry quickly identified his opponent, Cedric Diggory, who also happened to be the Hufflepuff captain. At first Harry put on a couple of quick spurts to see just how fast his Firebolt was. This would allow him to gauge how much time and space he would need when he saw the snitch.

Early on the Slytherin chasers were able to dominate and they soon built up a 70 – 10 lead. Harry and Cedric generally flew separate search patterns so they only rarely ended up at the same place at the same time. At times Harry flew low over the commentator's box in order to keep track of the score and it was during one of these passes that Harry caught sight of the snitch. He swerved abruptly towards Lee Jordan, the Gryffindor student who always commentated Quidditch matches at Hogwarts causing the boy to duck out of the way. Moments later Harry pulled up in front of Lee and showed him the snitch. Slytherin won 220 – 10. The Slytherins were delighted with their victory, not least of all because they were now odds on to win the Quidditch cup for the first time in three years.

During the after-match party Professor Snape made one of his rare appearances in the Common Room. "Potter," he began, "come to my office, now."

Harry followed Snape to the office where he found Sirius waiting for him. "Make it quick, Black. I have work to do."

"Harry, I wanted to come and congratulate you on your fine performance today."

"Thank you, Sirius." Harry glanced at Snape but the professor didn't seem to be paying attention.

"I saw your first match, too, although I made the mistake of sitting with some Ravenclaw supporters and had to listen to them criticising you." Sirius laughed. "You really are a good flyer, just like your father, although he played chaser normally."

"If you are finished, Black," Snape said without looking up.

"I better go. Owl me with the date of the next Hogsmeade visit, I would like to spend more time with you. Goodbye, Harry," Sirius said.

"I'll let you know as soon as I find out. Goodbye and thank you," Harry replied.

"You may both leave," Snape said without looking up.

Easter holidays came before the next Hogsmeade weekend but, because of the amount of homework they had received, Harry and his classmates spent almost the whole holiday doing school work instead of relaxing. They divided their time between the Common Room and the library, doing research and comparing notes with non-Slytherins in the library and working amongst themselves to get higher grades while in the Common Room.

Harry was having some trouble with Ancient Runes and would often ask older students, particularly Robert, for help. Tracey, too, was finding Ancient Runes a difficult subject but Robert helped them in working out a codified system which made understanding the patterns and how they interacted with each other somewhat easier. They also found themselves helping other students, especially Crabbe and Goyle, who were struggling with the workload. Harry found that helping others made it easier for him to understand the work too.

He would often ask Theodore for help with Ancient Runes as well and found him to be a helpful tutor. Harry would then assist Tracey and Daphne with their work. Because of this his own understanding of the subject began to improve. He encouraged them to work together which led to a steady improvement in their results as well.

During this time Harry got to know several younger students. Among the 1st years were younger siblings of students both from his year and other years. He already knew Astoria and found he got on well with her and with her friends notably Mildred Crabbe, a girl who was so unlike her brother Vincent that Harry hadn't even realised they were related until then. Although she was tall like him she was quite slender and had chestnut coloured hair and pale skin, totally unlike her heavy set, brown haired brother.

Mildred and Astoria were nearly always together and would often ask Daphne for help with their own homework. Since Daphne was nearly always with Tracey and Harry it meant that they, too, regularly found themselves helping the younger students. Harry enjoyed the chance to help them and he began setting aside a few minutes every day to help them along with any other students who needed help.

Harry hadn't forgotten his attempts to learn the Patronus Charm. With his regular schoolwork completed and after he had finished helping the younger students he would concentrate on practicing it. By the end of the holidays he was becoming fairly good and now felt confident he could at least protect himself for long enough to get away should the dementors return in the future.

All in all the holidays, although not very relaxing, had been quite productive both for his schoolwork and for making new friends, something he was happy to do.


	14. 14 Exam Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 14: Exam Time**

The last Quidditch match would occur in late May but this didn't stop Montague from getting the team into training early in the third term. The first week back after Easter break Slytherin were out training three times a week. Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, had his team training at least as often and, inevitably, there came a clash in bookings for the pitch.

"I booked the pitch for this evening," Wood shouted when he found the Slytherins training Thursday evening.

"I booked it first," Montague replied in an equally loud voice.

Just then the Ravenclaw team arrived, and soon a three way argument started.

Not long after this, and before anybody came to blows, Hagrid entered the stadium. "Wha's goin' on here?" he bellowed.

"I booked the pitch," Wood shouted.

"I booked it," Montague shouted.

"I booked it for this evening," shouted Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw captain.

"Enough," Hagrid thundered. "All three of yer, come with me." The three captains all followed Hagrid leaving their teams behind.

All three teams moved to a different part of the pitch, exchanging angry glares as they did so. Warrington called the Slytherins together and they had a quiet discussion while closely watching the other teams to make sure no-one was spying on them. The other two seemed to be doing the same as well.

A few minutes later Hagrid returned with Madam Hooch and the three captains. Madam Hooch addressed them all.

"According to my information, which I assure you is entirely accurate, Ravenclaw have booked this pitch for this time. Montague, Wood, you cannot just turn up whenever you want to and expect to be able to train here. In future both of you should check with me if the pitch is available, not your head of house."

"But…"

"No arguing, Wood," Madam Hooch said.

"Madam…"

"Be quiet, Montague. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin leave now."

Montague went to Professor Snape while Wood went to see Professor McGonagall. Both heads of house told their respective captains to consult with Madam Hooch in future.

The Slytherin team were not happy with the decision but it would free up more time for other things such as homework. With the help he and his fellow third years had received from older students Harry, Tracey and the rest now felt more confident about their rune translations while the assistance they were offering younger students was helping them with their own understanding of other subjects.

The next Hogsmeade visit took place early in May. As promised Sirius met with Harry and Tracey and took them on a guided tour of the village and some of the surrounding countryside. As part of this they went into the foothills of the nearby mountains where they found a number of caves that offered some shelter from the elements. Before they returned to Hogwarts Sirius gave Harry a mirror, explaining that it was a two-way mirror. He said if Harry ever wanted to talk to him about something he should just say Sirius' name into the mirror and they would be able to talk face to face.

That evening Harry decided to try out the mirror. "Sirius Black," he said into it.

"How are things?" Sirius replied immediately.

"All good. I was just trying the mirror out to see how good it is."

"I wondered how long it would take you to try it. This is pretty much the time I expected to hear from you. Is there anything else?"

"Not at the moment. In future I'll only use this mirror for emergencies. Good evening, Sirius."

"Bye, Harry."

The next month saw Harry dividing his time between Quidditch practices (3-4 times a week) and study. The last round of Quidditch matches began on the last Saturday of May when Hufflepuff defeated Ravenclaw. As a result of this match Gryffindor would need to defeat Slytherin by at least 200 points if they were to take the title. All Slytherin needed to do was win the match since this would mean they would be undefeated throughout the competition.

Slytherin made one change to their starting line-up with Adrian Pucey coming in for Draco Malfoy. Pucey hadn't been training any better than Malfoy but Montague decided he wanted all his biggest players in the team for the match. Harry thought this was a mistake but kept his opinion to himself. Malfoy, however, didn't take kindly to being dropped and he had an argument with Montague that resulted in him receiving a detention when Snape overheard the language he was using.

The day of the match arrived and Harry and his teammates were given a guard of honour by the rest of their house. Over at the Gryffindor table much the same thing was happening. The Slytherin team sat together surrounded by their supporters trying to relax and concentrate on the game ahead. This was made difficult, however, by Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students clearly (and loudly) expressing their support for Gryffindor every time they passed the Slytherin table. Harry thought some of these students were deliberately going out of their way to try and disrupt the Slytherins' breakfast.

Eventually Montague took the team down to the changing sheds earlier than needed. Once there (and safely away from the other students) he outlined their plan for the match. All three chasers were to keep back to provide backup for the keeper. This would give them as strong a defence as possible by reducing the likely openings for the Gryffindor chasers and affecting their scoring opportunities. If the opportunity arose, however, they would break out trusting the speed of their brooms to outstrip the Gryffindors. Hit-and-run tactics he called them.

The beaters were to do their normal jobs. The Weasley twins were both good players and Slytherin couldn't afford to leave them unmarked. Harry's job was to find and catch the snitch as quickly as possible – the sooner the game was over the better as Montague put it.

In the game the Slytherins strongly defensive tactics drew a great deal of comment and Harry more than once heard the commentator, Lee Jordan of Gryffindor, claim they were illegal. Despite the move Gryffindor were still able to score several goals and were leading 40 – 10 when Harry saw the snitch at the bottom of the Gryffindor goal posts. He turned and raced past McLaggen, the Gryffindor seeker but found his way blocked by the keeper, Wood, who tried to knock Harry off his broom. This illegal tactic resulted in a penalty which Slytherin scored from. A mid-air fight soon after saw both teams awarded penalties, both of which resulted in goals, before Harry once again saw the snitch. He climbed to the same altitude as it before turning and racing toward it. He heard several shouts from other players and had to avoid two bludgers sent his way by the Weasley twins but he managed to catch the snitch, winning the game by 180 – 50.

The team were ecstatic. This was their first title in three years and that evening in the Common Room they held a victory party the likes of which Harry had never experienced before. It was after midnight before Professor Snape entered the Common Room and told them to go to bed. He reminded them they had exams coming up in just over a weeks' time so they would need to concentrate on that if they wanted to round out the year successfully.

Monday morning Harry received a note from Hagrid saying that the appeal over the decision to have Buckbeak the Hippogriff put down after it had injured Draco Malfoy back in September would be held on the last day of exams. After classes that day Harry and Tracey went out to Hagrid's cabin to speak to him about it.

"Are you all ready for the appeal a week from Friday?" Harry asked.

"I'll do my best," Hagrid replied "but I dunno; Lucius Malfoy seems pretty determined."

"Have you had any help?" Tracey asked.

"Oh yeah. Ron Weasley's bin helpin' lately an' before tha' Hermione Granger was doin' wha' she could, too. Lately, though, she's been too busy wi' all her classes."

"I think it's time I called in a favour," Harry said.

"Are you going to talk to Draco?" Tracey asked.

"Yeah. I think I might be able to use my influence, and he does owe me one, after all."

Harry declined to explain any further but come Saturday he asked Draco if they could talk in private.

"I assume you know that Buckbeak's appeal is this Friday," Harry began,

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it." Malfoy seemed almost excited at the prospect.

"I think it would be better if Buckbeak wasn't killed. I think he should just be banished from the grounds. That would be better for all concerned."

Draco glared angrily at Harry. "That thing mauled me. It deserves to die."

"I've met Buckbeak," Harry said calmly. "I found him to be a very proud, intelligent animal. In fact he reminds me somewhat of your father."

"What are you implying?" Draco demanded.

"I think you upset him, so he struck out at you. He is an animal after all; they don't think about their actions. they just run on instinct. A person would have found a different way to express themselves. Instead of resorting to violence they would probably have talked to you and asked for an apology."

"I am not going to apologise to a wild animal."

Harry sighed. He had hoped he wouldn't need to resort to this but it seemed Draco was leaving him no choice. "The Heir of Slytherin does not want to see the Hippogriff named Buckbeak put down. The Heir would like to see the animal removed from Hogwarts and taken to a safe location where it will not have any direct interaction with the students."

After a few moments Draco nodded. "I'll talk to father. I can't promise anything though."

"Thank you, Heir Malfoy. I hope this will lead to a satisfactory outcome for all concerned."

Harry's exams took all his attention over the next week. He was confident he had done well in most of them but Ancient Runes was still causing him some concern. His last exam was Friday morning and, at lunch, he decided to visit Hagrid to find out how the appeal went. He approached Hagrid's cabin but was met part way there by Professor Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon, Harry. How did your exams go?" the Headmaster asked.

"I think I did ok in nearly all my subjects, sir. I know I tried my best anyway."

"And to do one's best is all one can hope for. I assume you intend to visit Hagrid?"

"Yes sir. I was curious as to how Buckbeak's appeal went."

"Most surprisingly Lucius Malfoy withdrew his insistence that Buckbeak be executed. He has, however, insisted the animal be removed from Hogwarts immediately. Buckbeak is being held in a secure and isolated location until a new home can be found."

"Thank you sir, I am very pleased to hear that. If you will excuse me I must visit Hagrid to give him my congratulations."

"Of course, Harry. Good afternoon."

Harry knocked on Hagrid's door. Hagrid threw the door open and said, "We won, Beaky's goin' to live."

"I know. I met Professor Dumbledore on the way here. Have you found anywhere to send him yet?"

"No but I'm gonna keep lookin'.

Just then there was another knock on the door. Hagrid opened it to Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"Hello, Hagrid," Hermione began. "We heard about Buckbeak. Congratulations."

"It's thanks to all three of yer," Hagrid replied.

"What did Harry do?" Ron asked.

"Harry said he'd have a word wi' the Malfoys. That musta helped," Hagrid explained.

Before anyone else could speak, however, they heard a voice from Harry's pocket. "Harry Potter."

Harry took out the two-way-mirror. "Hello Sirius."

"Harry, listen carefully. Peter Pettigrew has escaped from Azkaban. We are fairly sure he's heading back to Hogwarts so you need to be careful."

"Pettigrew escaped?" Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid all spoke at the same time.

"Who are you with?" asked Sirius.

"I'm at Hagrid's with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

"Ah Ron, your rat. Alright. All of you listen. Dumbledore knows; the Ministry contacted him just before I called you. Despite Dumbledore's protests the dementors are being sent back to Hogwarts. Everybody is to be informed of that this evening. Don't do anything silly and you'll be fine. That applies to all of you, by the way."

"We should get back to the castle shouldn't we?" Hermione offered. "We will be safer there than in the grounds."

"That's a good idea," Sirius said. "All of you do that and make sure to tell your friends. Harry I'll see you back in London on the 30th. Bye for now." The mirror went blank.


	15. 15 The Rat Returns

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in; Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 15: The Rat Returns**

That evening Professor Dumbledore addressed the students during their evening meal, informing them of what had happened and urging them to go directly to a teacher or prefect if they saw anything out of the ordinary. He also urged them to be careful and stay with their friends as much as possible. At the very least they should not outside their Common Rooms alone.

Like most students Harry took the warning seriously. He considered not going on the last Hogsmeade visit for the year but ultimately decided he would. He would be sticking close by his friends reasoning there was safety in numbers.

The weather was calm and warm when they left the castle. With Harry were Tracey, Daphne, Blaise and Theo. They walked around the village until they encountered Sirius Black along with two men Harry could identify as aurors from how they were dressed.

"Good morning, Harry," Sirius began.

"Hello, Sirius. I didn't know you were in town today," Harry replied.

"Field training," Sirius explained. "How are you today, Tracey?"

"I'm good," Tracey said. "What do you mean by field training?"

"Remember I said I was going to try and get my old job back? This is part of the process to determine if I still have what it takes. We are here patrolling the town to keep you lot safe from Pettigrew. The dementors aren't allowed in the town so it's up to us to keep everyone safe."

"We really should get back to work," one of the aurors said. "We are supposed to keep mobile."

"Williamson is right," Sirius admitted. "It was good to see you again, Harry. You too, Tracey."

"Bye Sirius," Harry and Tracey said before leaving with their friends.

The group continued around the village finding new places they hadn't been before. They ate at the Three Broomsticks before going to Honeydukes where they spent more than they should have. Late afternoon they decided to head back to Hogwarts and it was just before they entered the school grounds they heard several cries of fear from nearby. Then they noticed it getting colder and they realised the dementors were nearby.

"Run back to the castle," Daphne shouted.

"What about that scream?" Blaise asked.

"We need to find a teacher, someone who can cast a patronus," Tracey called.

Harry, meanwhile, couldn't decide what to do. "Potter, what are you waiting for?" Theo demanded as he started toward the castle following the other three.

"Those students are in danger. I doubt a teacher could get here in time."

"They are dementors. None of us have the skill to stop them."

"I'm going to try," Harry replied. Theo ran through the gate, leaving Harry alone.

Harry walked toward where the voices had been coming from. With every step he took the cold got worse but now he could see one of those trapped by the dementors was Millicent Bulstrode and he wasn't going to abandon her. Harry concentrated on the thought of Sirius being free and of himself soon being able to stay with him. He thought of Tracey and all the good times he had shared with her. Taking out his wand he shouted "Expecto Patronum."

A burst of silvery light erupted from his wand and formed into a large animal. He recognised it as a stag and directed it towards the dementors who backed away. Another charge from the silver stag and they fled the scene.

Harry approached to two people he could now see laying on the ground. With Millicent was an older boy named Adrian Pucey, a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

Pucey glanced at Harry and tried to stand up but he collapsed. Millicent rolled over to face him while staying on the ground. "Potter?" she gasped.

"Are you both alright?" Harry asked.

"D-dementors," Pucey whispered. "They attacked us. Where are they?"

"They're gone. I chased them away with a patronus," Harry said.

"Patronus?" asked Millicent.

"Professor Lupin taught me and Tracey the spell back in 2nd term. I mastered it but she's still learning."

At that moment Professor McGonagall came hurrying through the gate. "What happened? Where are the dementors?" she asked.

"I drove them away," Harry said.

McGonagall stared at him. "You chased away the dementors?"

"Yes, Professor. I learnt the patronus from Professor Lupin."

A moment later Professors Snape and Dumbledore arrived. "Mr Zabini and Miss Greengrass have informed us that several students were attacked by dementors," Dumbledore said. Snape glared at Harry as if trying to read his mind.

"Potter claims he drove them away with a patronus that he cast after taking lessons from Professor Lupin," McGonagall said.

"You cast a corporeal patronus, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes sir," Harry replied. "My patronus takes the form of a stag."

"Very impressive, Harry. It seems many people owe you a vote of thanks. For now you should all come to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey can assess you."

Pucey and Millicent managed to walk back to the castle unaided. In the hospital wing all the students were examined by Madam Pomfrey who soon cleared them all to return to the dormatories. The students who had earlier ran back to the castle joined them as they were leaving.

"Harry," Tracey began, "everybody is saying you drove away those dementors. Is it true?"

"Yeah, it is," he said.

Tracey hugged him. "That was really brave, not to mention stupid. What if you had failed in your attempt? What would have happened to you?"

"It was just something I thought I had to do. I couldn't leave them there." Harry was starting to feel uncomfortable. Any further questions were stopped when Professor Lupin arrived.

"Harry. I've just heard you cast a corporeal patronus and saved your fellow classmates. Well done."

"Thank you, professor. I couldn't have done it without your help, though. You deserve the credit for teaching me so well," Harry replied.

"You deserve the praise, Harry. You saw the situation and reacted appropriately. You didn't panic and made the right choice. For that I congratulate you. Don't be too harsh, Tracey," Lupin added.

"I won't sir. Come on, Harry the others are waiting for you in the Common Room."

"Before you go, Harry, Sirius and I have had a discussion. Although I don't entirely agree with him it is appropriate that you should become the rightful owner of the Marauder's Map. You are, at present, the only direct descendant of a Marauder." Lupin handed Harry the map wrapped up in brown paper. "Make sure you keep its existence a secret."

"I will. Thank you, Professor Moony."

That evening Harry retired early. After a long day of thank you's from several people (including Sirius who mirror called him not long after he had left Professor Lupin) he was feeling tired. Rather than going to bed, however, he took out the Marauder's Map and studied the layout of the castle.

After few moments he turned his attention to Professor Lupin's office. He was shocked when he realised that Peter Pettigrew was there, along with Professor Snape. He pulled out the mirror and called Sirius.

"Hello, Harry. Has something happened?" Sirius asked when he replied.

"Peter Pettigrew is here at Hogwarts," Harry replied. "He is in Professor Lupin's office with Snape."

"I'll alert the aurors and Dumbledore. Whatever you do, do not leave the Common Room and don't try to interfere, Harry. Stay safe." The mirror went blank.

Harry returned to the Common Room where he joined Tracey. "Pettigrew's here at Hogwarts. I've just spoken to Sirius and the aurors are on their way." Several other people overheard him speak.

"Should we go after him?" someone asked.

"No. Sirius told me to stay here and let the staff and aurors deal with it," Harry replied.

"Harry and Sirius are right," Tracey added. "We should just keep out of the way."

Harry couldn't use the Marauder's Map in the Common Room and when he and Tracey tried to find a private area to examine it they were soon joined by several others. They realised they would have to wait until the following morning to find out what had happened.

Next day when they went down for the breakfast they were told that Professor Dumbledore wanted to address all the students. Once everybody was together in the Great Hall Dumbledore began.

"Last evening Peter Pettigrew managed to gain access to the castle despite the dementors who were supposed to be guarding against this event," he began. "After entering the castle he proceeded to the DADA office where he ambushed Professor Snape and, using Polyjuice potion, proceeded to impersonate him. In this guise Pettigrew contaminated a potion Professor Lupin has been taking this year to help with a serious health condition he has suffered from for many years. As some of you have already figured out Professor Lupin is a werewolf…"

Dumbledore was, at this point, drowned out by a chorus of gasps and shouts from many students. Harry distinctly heard one boy's voice shout "He's a werewolf. Are you insane?" others were shouting about being 'put in danger while still at school' and others were saying "When the authorities find out…"

" **Silence"** Dumbledore shouted over the furore. After a minute or two he continued.

"I assure you that, at no point this year, have you been in any danger. A number of students found this fact out for themselves over the year and none of them have ever thought they were at risk.

"To continue with what I was saying: fortunately the Ministry of Magic and myself were alerted to Pettigrew's presence by the prompt actions of a student who realised something was wrong when he saw 'Professor Snape' acting strangely. This was, of course, Pettigrew impersonating him. Very wisely, rather than confront this person, the student immediately sought help from a staff member and, even though Pettigrew was able to escape, the Hogwarts staff and aurors sent by the Ministry of Magic were able to contain the situation and prevent any further damage or injury."

Harry knew what Dumbledore was saying wasn't entirely accurate but he was relieved the Headmaster had chosen not to mention him directly. He glanced at Tracey and saw the same feeling of relief on her face as well. She caught his eye and smiled back. Meanwhile, Dumbledore continued.

"Unfortunately, as a result of these events from last night, Professor Lupin has handed in his notice and is now packing to leave with the help of one of the aurors who came here last night. Additionally, because of their failure to prevent Pettigrew from entering the castle, and also after they attacked two students yesterday afternoon, the dementors have been sent back to Azkaban. That is all."

Harry and Tracey left straight after breakfast heading to Lupin's office. When they knocked on the door it was opened by Sirius Black. "Good morning," Sirius said, "come in."

"Sirius, why did you open the door? Where's Lupin?" Harry asked.

"Right here," Lupin said from the far side of the room. "Considering what happened last night we thought it would be prudent for me to not open my own door, in case it was someone who wanted to attack me. An occupational hazard of being a werewolf, I'm afraid."

"So you have resigned then?" Tracey asked.

"Yes. I will miss the job, too, but I can understand why people aren't going to want me around. Now that my big secret is out this is probably the best for all concerned."

There was a period of silence while Lupin finished packing but before he could leave there was another knock at the door. Sirius opened it to Professor Dumbledore who had Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger with him. "Good morning Sirius; good morning Remus," Dumbledore said.

"Professor," Hermione began, "we don't think you should have to leave just because you're a werewolf. Couldn't you stay on?" Ron was looking around the room.

"I'm afraid not. After what happened last night I think it is best for all if I leave." Lupin closed his suitcase, picked up a couple of boxes and made to leave. Sirius pointed his wand at Lupin's trunk and turned for the door. "Goodbye for now," he said as he and Sirius left.

"Harry, thank you for alerting everybody so quickly last night when you realised something was wrong," Dumbledore said. "Although we failed to catch Pettigrew we were able to contain the situation and ensure nobody was harmed in any way."

"But Professor Lupin…" Harry began to say.

"Remus always knew there was the chance that something like this could happen," Dumbledore interrupted. "Although the outcome was unfortunate we must accept it and move on. Your respective heads of house have your final exam results for the year and, as there are no classes today, I suggest you all go and enjoy yourselves." Dumbledore held the door open and all the students left.

Harry was happy with his exam results that saw him finish 10th overall in their year and Slytherin won both the Quidditch and house cups but, despite this, he couldn't help feeling disappointed. Pettigrew had escaped and he would soon be returning to the Dursleys. At least he knew Sirius would be visiting him soon and the thought of the looks on the Dursley's faces when he turned up cheered Harry considerably. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad this time.


	16. 16 31 Sirius Black

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in: Chapter 3.1 Sirius Black**

It was just another day in Azkaban for Sirius Black. Ever since he had been imprisoned without so much as a trial for murdering his best friend James Potter and James' wife Lily as well as 12 muggles and Peter Pettigrew, who was of course the real murderer and was still alive and free, all Sirius had to hold on to was the knowledge of his own innocence. Not that anybody believed him of course.

He sat in his cell trying to hold onto what was left of his sanity. The only reason he still had any was because he knew he was innocent – the Dementors fed on negative emotions but knowing he was innocent was not a negative emotion. It was what allowed him to resist their effects.

One day in what he thought was mid-July he heard human voices nearby. He recognised Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, and guessed the other voices belonged to aurors. Sirius had long given up on trying to convince Fudge of his innocence but at least this would allow him to speak to another human and perhaps find out about what was happening in the outside world.

"Ah, yes of course, Sirius Black," Fudge said as he stood outside the cell containing Azkaban's most notorious prisoner.

"Hello Minister," Sirius said in a weak, croaking voice. It had gotten that way from lack of use.

Fudge appeared to take a deep calming breath before replying. "Good morning, Mister Black. How are you today?"

"Same as always," Sirius replied. "Nothing ever changes in here."

"Well, I best be off. I have many other prisoners to visit today. Good day, Mister Black."

"Minister?" Sirius began. "Is that today's Daily Prophet?"

"Ah, yes it is," Fudge replied, pulling the newspaper out from under his arm.

"Would you mind if I had a look at it? I do miss having no newspaper here. I miss doing the crossword."

Fudge looked uncomfortable but, after a few seconds, passed the paper through the bars into Sirius; cell. "Thank you, Minister," replied Sirius.

Fudge walked away down the corridor. As he left Sirius heard him talking to the aurors with him. "I come out here every year to inspect the scariest place on the planet, Williamson, and the scariest thing here isn't the Dementors guarding it but one of the prisoners they are guarding."

Sirius smirked. So Fudge thought he was scarier than any Dementor.

Turning to the newspaper Sirius read the front page. The lead story was about Arthur Weasley, the person in charge of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Weasley had won the Daily Prophet's Annual Grand Prize Galleon Draw. Apparently the Weasleys had decided to spend their windfall on a holiday to Egypt so they could visit their eldest son, Bill, who worked there as a curse-breaker for Gringotts' Wizarding Bank.

Sirius scanned the article. It showed a picture of a large group of people, Mr. Weasley, his wife and their seven children. Sirius shook his head; he had never known the Weasleys all that well but he did know they had a huge family and that they had often struggled to make ends meet. If they had fewer children they would not have faced the same level of difficulties but it never seemed to phase them.

While he was looking at the picture something caught his eye. There, sitting on the shoulder of what looked like the youngest boy, was a rat. A rat that Sirius had no trouble recognising. He had seen Peter Pettigrew transform into his animagus form so many times during their time at Hogwarts and in the years after they had left that he had no trouble recognising him. Peter Pettigrew, the man who had handed James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort and had then murdered 12 muggles and faked his own death to avoid capture, and in the process had framed Sirius leading to him being sent to Azkaban for a crime he did not commit, was sitting there, in his animagus form, smiling at the camera.

Shocked, Sirius said out loud, "He's at Hogwarts. He's there."

Sirius decided there was only one thing he could do. The Dementors always opened the door when they delivered food to the prisoners and, since they were blind, they relied on other senses. He already knew that when he turned into a dog they could hardly even notice him. He formulated a plan: the next time they opened his cell he would slip out past them as a dog and escape the island. He knew Azkaban was a long way from the mainland and he didn't know if he could swim that far but he had to try.

Even he was surprised how well the plan worked. Once in the North Sea he headed west towards the British coast and, after a swim lasting several hours, he dragged himself onto a beach somewhere on the east coast of England. Or was it Scotland? Having reached shore he had no real idea of where he was so he decided to start heading south.

Still in dog form in case there were aurors checking the area Sirius journeyed for a couple of hours before realising he was starving. As a dog he rummaged through a rubbish bin near a rest area on a quiet road. He started drinking direct from a nearby stream.

After two days he had regained enough strength to continue his journey south. During that time he found a few newspapers which told him he was in south Lincolnshire near the town of Skegness. Using this as a reference he began his journey south toward Little Whinging; the town in Surrey in which his godson Harry Potter was now living.

The trip to Little Whinging took nearly a week but he managed it without anyone suspecting him. He arrived in the early evening and began trying to find the house Harry lived in. he wasn't really sure what he would do when he got there but, at the moment anyway, it seemed like the right thing to do.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he saw a boy dragging a heavy trunk along the road. The boy looked like James, Harry's father, and he seemed upset about something. Silently, he followed Harry pausing only when Harry stopped and sat down on his trunk. Deciding the time had come Sirius started walking towards him but apparently Harry heard him. The boy pulled out his wand and cast "Lumos."

The bright wand-light showed Sirius in full dog form. Startled, both parties took a step back. Unfortunately for Harry this caused him to trip over his trunk. A moment later an enormous purple bus appeared and its headlights flooded the alley in which Sirius was standing with bright light. He bolted down the alley away from Harry.

After that abortive attempt to approach him Sirius knew there would be essentially no chance of contacting Harry outside of school. Resigned to this fact Sirius started out on the long journey back to the north, hoping he might get another opportunity to see Harry after he returned to Hogwarts.

The journey north took over a month. Sirius was in no hurry since school wouldn't begin until the 1st of September and it was only mid-August and then there was the fact that security was bound to be tighter than usual at the start of the term anyway so it made sense for Sirius to take is time.

When he reached Hogsmeade he realised there were Dementors stationed around the school. This surprised him and he wondered if Dumbledore had been overruled by the Ministry of Magic. He doubted Dumbledore would approve of a selection of the most dangerous creatures in the world being unleashed upon a school full of children and teenagers so it seemed likely.

Eventually he discovered the Shrieking Shack was not being guarded by the Dementors and that the tunnel from it into the school grounds was still open. This gave him free reign to enter the grounds whenever he wanted to or to travel around the district and town at will.

The first Hogsmeade visit occurred on Halloween and Sirius was able to approach close to Harry but the presence of several other students made him stay out of the way. He did learn some things, however. By careful investigation he discovered Pettigrew was living in the Gryffindor Common Room and so, on that evening, he entered the castle while everybody was in the Great Hall and made his way up to Gryffindor tower. Unfortunately for him he didn't know the password and, when the Fat Lady refused his access his frustrations overflowed and he forgot himself and attacked her portrait. By the time he regained control of his emotions he had badly ripped the portrait and knew he was now in a lot of trouble.

He fled the castle and returned to the Shrieking shack but stayed only long enough to cover any evidence of his presence. For the next week he slept in caves before deciding it was safe to return. He decided on a more cautious approach; perhaps if he could talk to Harry somewhere away from the castle he might be able to convince his godson of his innocence?

The first opportunity came on the day of the first Quidditch match. Unfortunately the weather was terrible and, although nearly everybody came to the game, there was no chance for Sirius to get any more information and, to make matters worse, the Dementors invaded the pitch. After they were removed by the staff Sirius returned to the shrieking shack.

The next Saturday conditions were vastly different and he was able to watch the Slytherin v. Ravenclaw match. Several Ravenclaw students sat around him clearly thinking he was just a stray dog that had wandered onto the grounds so he was able to watch the match while enjoying his first human contact in a very long time. The match ended when Harry, who was playing seeker for Slytherin much to Sirius' disappointment, caught the snitch. He and the Ravenclaw seeker then collided in mid-air which caused the Ravenclaws around him to call for Harry to be penalised and for their seeker, a girl named Cho Chang, to be awarded the catch. Sirius laughed. Harry had done nothing wrong and, if anything, the penalty should have gone against Chang for striking Harry after the match had ended. His barking laugh apparently made the Ravenclaws think he was agreeing with them which made him laugh even more.

About a month later Sirius saw large numbers of students heading towards the gates to the grounds. Realising this must be another Hogsmeade weekend he decided to wait outside the grounds and try to catch Harry alone but the opportunity never arose. When he did see Harry he was with a boy who could only be a Malfoy along with a number of other students whom Sirius was sure were the children of Death Eaters.

Nearly all the students were going home for Christmas but by observing from the fringes of the forest he learnt that Harry would be staying. It seemed as if there was only one other Slytherin staying, a girl with possibly brownish hair who Sirius had seen with Harry several times. Sirius assumed this might be Harry's girlfriend and felt much more comfortable with this knowledge.

One afternoon he observed Harry and this girl walking together by the lake and decided to approach them. When he stepped clear of the forest he pretended to be a nervous stray dog. His plan worked perfectly; neither Harry nor the girl, whom he now knew was named Tracey, suspected anything as they invited him into the castle.

The next week or so were the best Sirius had experienced in years. Harry and Tracey always made sure he had plenty of food and, by listening to their conversations, Sirius learnt that Remus Lupin was now the DADA teacher and that Snivellus (Severus) Snape was Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin house. He also learnt that Harry either owned or had access to the Marauder's Map.

On the 30th of December Harry and Tracey took Sirius to Hagrid's hut and asked if Hagrid could take care of 'Scruffy' (the name he had been given by the students). That evening Sirius crept out of Hagrid's hut while Hagrid was absent (probably visiting the local pub) and entered the castle, making his way to the DADA office where he knocked on the door.

"Come in," Lupin said from inside the room. Sirius transformed into his human appearance and entered.

"Sirius!" Lupin shouted when he saw who was standing there. In the barest fraction of a second Lupin's wand was pointing at him.

"Hello, Remus," he began. "Can we talk before you kill me?" Sirius' voice was weak from lack of use.

"Stay there, Black, and keep your hands where I can see them," Lupin said as he moved toward the fireplace, reaching for the jar of floo powder he kept next to it.

"Remus, please listen. Just give me one minute to explain."

"One minute, then I call Dumbledore."

"I have been sleeping in the Slytherin Common Room for over a week. Harry and Tracey have been feeding me every day. I am not here to hurt Harry; I am here to protect him."

Lupin looked utterly shocked. "You've been sleeping here, next to Harry, for over a week?"

"Not exactly. I sleep in the Common Room, Harry sleeps in the dormatories with Tracey sleeping in the bed next to him. They are sharing a room."

Lupin returned to his desk and sat down, a look of shock on his face. "What are you doing here then?"

"Protecting Harry, just like a godfather is supposed to. Remus, Peter is here too. He was James and Lily's secret keeper, he was the one who betrayed them to Voldemort and he's here at Hogwarts pretending to be a pet rat for the Weasley family. I saw him in this picture." Sirius gave Remus the newspaper clipping showing the Weasleys in Egypt and pointing to the rat sitting on Ron's shoulder.


	17. 17 32 Remus Lupin

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in: Chapter 3.2 Remus Lupin**

Ever since his parents had died during the Wizarding War Remus Lupin had been struggling through life. As a werewolf he had always struggled to find employment and recent legislation approved by the Ministry of Magic hadn't helped him.

He decided to apply for the DADA position at Hogwarts. If successful he would have a stable source of income for the best part of a year – easily the best position he had been in financially since he was a child. His parents hadn't been wealthy but they had enough income to support the family and be able to put some aside for a rainy day. That day had come a few weeks before Harry Potter had been born, when Remus was 20 years old. His father had survived the attack but had been badly hurt while his mother had been killed.

Less than a year later the Death Eaters had caught up with them again. Remus' father had died as had three Death Eaters but, because he was 21 years old, Remus had not received any financial compensation beyond having his father's funeral expenses covered. This left him with enough money to last at most 10 years unless he could find work. The little work he had found meant he could pan that out a little but now he was almost out of money again.

Fortunately he was the only applicant for the position and Dumbledore had been very happy to give him the job. Remus learnt his predecessor had been arrested after he had attempted to wipe Severus Snape's memory of an incident that had happened some time earlier. Something to do with the Chamber of Secrets and concerning Harry Potter although exactly what he didn't know. After taking up the position Remus had asked exactly what had happened and Dumbledore told him almost the full story, saying only that some parts were not for him to explain since innocent people had been caught up in them and it was up to them if they wanted to talk about it. The students who had been petrified were restored to full health and had been given an assessed mark for their year's work.

Dumbledore asked Remus to catch the Hogwarts Express. The Headmaster expected the train may be searched by Dementors and he wanted a teacher on hand to protect the students should this happen. As it turned out he chose the same cabin which Harry Potter and his friends chose. Remus distinctly heard several girls address him as they sat down. Remus thought 'Just like James. Always chasing girls.'

Somewhat earlier than would normally be the case the train started slowing down before coming to an abrupt stop. Then the lights went out. There were a few moments of confusion before Remus decided to take charge. Creating a magical light he was immediately confronted by a dementor.

Harry collapsed and the three girls were on the verge of panicking so Remus cast his Patronus and forced the Dementor away. After making sure no one else was in trouble he returned to the compartment. "It's alright girls," he began. "The reason I am here is to protect the students from the dementors. Dumbledore suspected something like this might happen. Here, eat these." He gave each of them a chocolate frog. "Stay here with Harry while check the other compartments."

When he returned Harry still hadn't regained consciousness. "How is he?" Remus asked the girl nearest Harry.

"Still the same. Will he be alright?"

"He'll be fine. I'm Professor Lupin, by the way."

"I'm Tracey Davis," replied the first girl.

"Daphne Greengrass."

"Astoria Greengrass."

At this point Harry stirred. After checking him and giving him a chocolate frog, Remus excused himself from the compartment and, after checking that nobody was in sight, sent his Patronus to Dumbledore to report the incident.

The first two months at Hogwarts went generally well although he was less than impressed to hear that Severus Snape had set an essay on werewolves while he had covered Lupin's class. An event on Halloween, however, changed everything. Sirius Black had managed to get into the castle and all the way to Gryffindor tower undetected. He had then slashed the Fat Lady's portrait when she had refused to let him into the Common Room. Remus assumed Sirius had attacked Gryffindor because he had expected Harry Potter to be a Gryffindor rather than a Slytherin. After that security was tightened and, as far as he knew, Black was now nowhere near the castle.

Soon after Harry Potter had asked him about the Patronus charm, saying he was interested in learning it. Remus told him to think carefully as the Patronus was a very advanced charm that many adult wizards struggled with. Harry seemed determined however so Remus agreed they would meet early in the 2nd term to discuss it.

Christmas holidays were very quiet. Only four students were staying and two of them would be leaving on New Year's Eve. Only nine staff were staying over. Remus was, therefore, surprised when, on the evening of New Year's Eve, there was a knock on his office door.

"Come in," Lupin said.

"Sirius!" Lupin shouted when he saw who was standing there. In the barest fraction of a second Lupin's wand was pointing at him.

"Hello, Remus," Sirius began. "Can we talk before you kill me?" His voice was weak.

"Stay there, Black, and keep your hands where I can see them," Lupin said as he moved toward the fireplace, reaching for the jar of floo powder he kept next to it.

"Remus, please listen. Just give me one minute to explain."

Remus looked at Black and decided it might be safe, although he kept his wand on him. "One minute, then I call Dumbledore."

"I have been sleeping in the Slytherin Common Room for over a week. Harry and Tracey have been feeding me every day. I am not here to hurt Harry; I am here to protect him."

Lupin was shocked. "You've been sleeping here, next to Harry, for over a week?"

"Not exactly. I sleep in the Common Room, Harry sleeps in the dormatories with Tracey sleeping in the bed next to him. They are sharing a room."

Lupin returned to his desk and sat down. "What are you doing here then?"

"Protecting Harry, just like a godfather is supposed to. Remus, Peter is here too. He was James and Lily's secret keeper, he was the one who betrayed them to Voldemort and he's here at Hogwarts pretending to be a pet rat for the Weasley family. I saw him in this picture." Sirius gave Remus the newspaper clipping showing the Weasleys in Egypt and pointing to the rat sitting on Ron's shoulder.

"What makes you think this is Peter?"

"Look at him," Sirius said in an urgent voice. "I would recognise him anywhere. Look at the rat's foot. He's missing a toe. Wormtail cut it off when he faked his death and framed me."

Remus remembered the largest part of Pettigrew's body that had been found after the explosion had been his finger. Now that he thought about it he realised this had been the only part of Pettigrew's body to be positively identified.

"Can you prove what you are saying?"

"I can, Remus. The Marauder's Map. Harry either owns it or at least has access to it. With that map I can prove Wormtail is here at Hogwarts, ideally placed to kill Harry if he thinks he could gain from it."

"I see. Don't move, Black, I am going to summon Professor Dumbledore." Remus flicked his wand and a silver wolf erupted from it. After a moment the wolf shot away. He realised he should have done that instead of moving toward the fireplace but the shock of finding himself face to face with Sirius Black meant he wasn't quite thinking straight.

"May I sit down?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded.

Moments later the fireplace burst into life and Professor Dumbledore stepped out pointing his wand directly at Sirius. "What are you doing here, Sirius?" he demanded.

"Professor Dumbledore, I am here to protect my godson from the man who betrayed his parents to Lord Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew. He's here at Hogwarts, living in this castle, eating the school's food, just waiting for a chance to finish the job."

"What proof of this do you have?"

Sirius pointed to the photo on Remus' desk. "Peter is right there in that photo, sitting on that boys shoulder."

"Are you saying that Peter Pettigrew is a rat?"

"Headmaster," Remus said. "I think I need to explain something from my time here as a student. Sirius, along with James and Peter, discovered I was a werewolf. Rather than abandoning me they set about trying to find a way they safely keep me company during the full moon. In our 5th year they managed to become Animagi. Sirius turns into a large dog; the same one, in fact, that several people have met around the school and in the village. I found this out when Sirius told me he has been sleeping in the Slytherin Common Room for the last week."

"You have been sleeping in the castle? In the same place Harry has been sleeping alone?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Yes. Harry and his girlfriend have been feeding me."

"Very well. Continue," Dumbledore said.

"Fudge gave me the paper when he visited Azkaban at the end of July. As he left I heard him say I was more frightening than the dementors. Anyway, when I saw that photo I knew immediately the rat was Peter Pettigrew. I've lost count of the number of times I saw him transform into a rat during our last three years at Hogwarts."

"Why did you attack the Fat Lady's portrait?"

"I am sorry for my actions, Dumbledore, but at the time I wasn't thinking straight. I hadn't had a proper meal for a while and my hunger got the better of me. When I realised what I had done I immediately regretted my actions. I knew I had to leave quickly or I might be killed by the teachers or worse, given to the dementors."

"Can you prove can are right in your accusation?"

"Harry has the proof I need. When we were students here Remus and myself, along with James and Peter, created a detailed map of the castle. It is called the Marauder's Map and it shows in great detail the castle and the locations of everybody in the castle. Harry either has this map or knows who does and borrows it from them every now and then."

"Headmaster," Remus put in. "I propose we allow Sirius to remain in the castle. I will take personal responsibility for him and ensure he behaves himself. When term starts up I can ask Harry about the map and request he returns it to me. Once I have the map we will know for certain if Sirius is telling the truth."

"Very well, Remus, although it is against my better judgement it is probably the most suitable arrangement. I must insist, however, that Sirius does not leave this office and its adjacent classroom."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said.

Dumbledore had informed Severus Snape that Sirius was the large dog that had been hanging around the castle and that he had the Headmaster's permission to be there. Snape had not been happy and had shown his vindictive nature by placing both Harry and Tracey on detention but that had been out of Remus' hands and he had chosen not to tell Sirius about it.

The first opportunity for Remus to speak to Harry came up early in the new term. After their first DADA class, during which Sirius had sat in the corner and allowed himself to be patted by almost the entire class, Lupin asked Harry and Tracey to stay behind.

"Sit down," Lupin said. They took seats in front of Lupin's desk while Sirius curled up in the corner. "I heard the two of you were asking about werewolves over the holidays. Is that correct?"

"We were just wondering if the reason you were absent so often near the end of the month might be some sort of incurable condition," Tracey began. "Are you telling us you are a werewolf?"

"I am," Lupin replied simply. "Do you know of any other students who have worked this out?"

"No," Harry replied.

"Hermione Granger is very smart," Tracey added. "She may have figured it out, too."

"I'll have to speak to her too then. In the meantime I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone," Lupin said. "The staff all know and Professor Snape is making me the Wolfsbane potion which does somewhat mitigate the effects. That is what you saw him giving me that day before Christmas when you were asking about the Patronus charm, Harry."

"Yes, sir," they both said.

"Now there is one more thing I need to ask you about. Do you have the Marauder's Map with you?"

"The what, sir?" Harry asked.

"The Marauder's Map, as presented by Messer's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," Lupin said.

"No," Harry said. "Fred and George Weasley own it. They only lent it to us briefly last year." Tracey nodded her assent.

"I see," Lupin said, sounding amused. "For your information I know more about the map than either of you two. I'm Moony. I, along with my three closest friends, created it during our fifth year. They too found out about my condition and decided they should do whatever they could to help me for the remainder of our time as students."

Lupin dismissed them. He would see the Weasley twins Thursday afternoon and would get the map at that time.

After class finished Remus called Fred and George up. He heard some of their fellow students asking them what they had done this time. He smiled; just like the old days.

"Sit down," Remus began. The twins took the indicated seats. "I believe you have in your possession something called the Marauder's Map. Can I see it please?"

The twins looked at each-other. "The Marauders' Map?" Fred.

"Never heard of it." George.

Remus laughed. "For your information I am the man known as Moony and I know all about the map. Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs were my friends when I was a student here. We made the map."

The twins were shocked. "Professor Moony?" Fred.

"Is this what you were after?" George said as he pulled the map out of his bag.

"Thank you," Remus began. He tapped the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map revealed itself. He looked briefly over it before saying, "Mischief managed. I see it still works perfectly. I think I will keep it, however. This map is rather too powerful to be in your hands. No doubt you've used it for all sorts of mischief since you stole it from Filch's office."

The twins shared a look before asking, "Can we borrow it sometime in the future?"

"You'll have to ask its rightful owner, the son of one of the other Marauders. I'm sure he will be willing to let you use it at some point in the future. You may go." The twins left.


	18. 32: Dumbledore

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I attempting to make any personal gain from this story.

 **Harry Slithers-in: Companion Stories: Chapter 3.2: Dumbledore**

Albus Dumbledore had started the year with his annual problem: finding a DADA teacher. Fortunately, this time finding a suitable candidate proved easy although he came with a problem that would need to be kept away from the students and, especially, from their parents. Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

Compounding this problem was the fact that Sirius Black, the man responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter, had somehow managed to escape from Azkaban, something Dumbledore had considered impossible. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black had been friends when they were at school and although he thought it very unlikely he had to consider the possibility that Lupin would try to help Black in some way.

Professor Snape had made his view of the matter clear the day Lupin's appointment was announced, "Headmaster," Snape began, "I do not think wise that a friend of Black should appointed to teach at Hogwarts. How do we know Lupin won't help Black?"

"Severus, if I thought there was any danger of that happening I would not have appointed Remus Lupin to the position. I am convinced that Remus will not endanger any student of this school. I expect you will assist him with his other problem. You know he is a werewolf and I expect you to brew the wolfsbane potion during his time as a staff member."

"Of course I will," Snape replied sounded aggravated. "You know I would never do anything to endanger a student or a fellow staff member."

A few days before the start of the school year Minister Fudge decided to send the dementors to Hogwarts. Dumbledore opposed the decision but Fudge was determined so, reluctantly, Dumbledore had allowed their presence although he insisted they did not enter the castle or cross beyond the surrounding walls.

Dumbledore asked Remus to catch the Hogwarts Express. He expected the train may be searched by Dementors and he wanted a teacher on hand to protect the students should this happen. It proved to be a wise decision as the train was searched and Harry Potter had been one of the students who had been most severely affected by them. Harry and another boy were seen by Madam Pomfrey and were cleared to return to the feast after the sorting.

The first two months of the year passed quietly although Dumbledore was less than impressed to hear that Snape had set an essay on werewolves while covering for Lupin's DADA class during the full moon. It appeared nobody had joined the dots so to speak so he let it pass with only a reminder to Severus about acting more responsibly.

An event on Halloween, however, changed everything. Sirius Black had managed to get into the castle and all the way to Gryffindor tower undetected. He had then slashed the Fat Lady's portrait when she had refused to let him into the Common Room. Dumbledore assumed Sirius had attacked Gryffindor because he had expected Harry Potter to be a Gryffindor rather than a Slytherin. After that security was tightened and, as far as he knew, Black was now nowhere near the castle.

The first Quidditch match of the season brought new troubles. The weather on the day was appalling with heavy rain, strong wind and, worst of all, thunder and lightning. To make matters worse the dementors chose that day to enter the grounds. They got into the stadium where they caused chaos, terrifying the students and nearly attacking a player who had fallen from his broom. After forcing the dementors away Dumbledore went to the Ministry to demand their removal but Fudge insisted they stay. Reluctantly Dumbledore accepted this but insisted they must never again enter the grounds.

The next week Dumbledore noticed several students sitting with a large dog while they watched the next Quidditch match. The dog seemed very content so he ignored it. He knew many people had reported seeing a stray dog that always seemed friendly and he assumed this must be the animal.

Christmas was unusually quiet. Only four students were staying and two of them would be leaving on New Year's Eve. Only nine staff were staying over. Of those Remus Lupin would be unavailable for part of the holiday due to his condition. It looked like being the quietest Christmas Dumbledore had enjoyed since he started teaching at Hogwarts some 60 years earlier. He was, therefore, very surprised when Remus Lupin's patronus burst into his office and said, "Sirius Black is in my office. He is claiming Peter Pettigrew is alive and here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore immediately hurried to Lupin's office using the floo network.

When Professor Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace he pointed his wand directly at Sirius. "What are you doing her, Sirius?" he demanded.

"Professor Dumbledore, I am here to protect my godson from the man who betrayed his parents to Lord Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew. He's here at Hogwarts, living in this castle, eating the school's food, just waiting for a chance to finish the job."

"What proof of this do you have?"

Sirius pointed to a photo on Remus' desk. "Peter is right there in that photo, he is on that boys shoulder."

"Are you saying that Peter Pettigrew is a rat?"

"Headmaster," Remus said. "I think I need to explain something from my time here as a student. Sirius, along with James and Peter, discovered I was a werewolf. Rather than abandoning me they set about trying to find a way they safely keep me company during the full moon. In our 5th year they managed to become Animagi. Sirius turns into a large dog; the same one, in fact, that several people have met around the school and in the village. I found this out when Sirius told me he has been sleeping in the Slytherin Common Room for the past two weeks."

"You have been sleeping in the castle? In the same place Harry has been sleeping alone?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Yes. Harry and his girlfriend have been feeding me," Sirius replied."

"Very well. Continue," Dumbledore said.

"Fudge gave me the paper when he visited Azkaban at the end of July. As he left I heard him say I was more frightening than the dementors. Anyway, when I saw that photo I knew immediately the rat was Peter Pettigrew. I've lost count of the number of times I saw him transform into a rat during our last three years at Hogwarts."

"Why did you attack the Fat Lady's portrait?"

"I am sorry for my actions, Dumbledore, but at the time I wasn't thinking straight. I hadn't had a proper meal for a while and my hunger got the better of me. When I realised what I had done I immediately regretted my actions. I knew I had to leave quickly or I might be killed by the teachers or worse, given to the dementors."

"Can you prove can are right in your accusation?"

"Harry has the proof I need. When we were students here Remus, James, Peter and myself created a detailed map of the castle. It is called the Marauder's Map and it shows in great detail the castle and the locations of everybody in the castle. Harry either has this map or knows who does and borrows it from them every now and then."

"Headmaster," Remus put in. "I propose we allow Sirius to remain in the castle. I will take personal responsibility for him and ensure he behaves himself. When term starts up I can ask Harry about the map and request he returns it to me. Once I have the map we will know for certain if Sirius is telling the truth."

"Very well, Remus, although it is against my better judgement it is probably the most suitable arrangement. I must insist, however, that Sirius does not leave this office and its adjacent classroom."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said.

Dumbledore informed Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall that Sirius was the large dog that had been hanging around the castle and that he had the Headmaster's permission to be there. Neither had not been happy and Snape had shown his vindictive nature by placing both Harry Potter and Tracey Davis on detention.

Lupin then devised a plan to catch Pettigrew which Dumbledore approved. He made sure to ensure that Black was monitored at all times but left Lupin to sort out the fine details of the plan.

It was decided the trap would be sprung during a transfiguration class. Conveniently Gryffindor and Slytherin were paired for this class meaning that all concerned would be present. When the students entered the classroom Professor Dumbledore was sitting next to Professor McGonagall.

"Good afternoon, class. As you can see we have a special guest with us today. Professor Dumbledore will be sitting in on this lesson as we will be learning an important and very useful spell."

Dumbledore could see from the expressions on the students' faces they thought this would be an interesting lesson.

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall continued, "do you have your pet rat with you?"

"Yes, Professor," Ron Weasley said, sounding surprised.

"Please place him on my desk." McGonagall indicated the space in front of her. Ron walked to the front with Scabbers seemingly tried to get away from him.

When Ron placed Scabbers on the desk Professor McGonagall pinned the rat in place with her own hand. Scabbers was squeaking frantically as if he was afraid. "What are you doing to him?" Ron demanded.

By way of reply Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at Scabbers who disappeared in a flash of light, being replaced moments later by a man.

"Scabbers?" Ron said in a shocked voice. Every other student in the class let out a gasp of surprise.

"Hello, Peter," Dumbledore began calmly. "You look in remarkably good health for someone who has been dead for 12 years."

Professor McGonagall stunned Pettigrew who was making a desperate attempt to escape. Peter crashed into the front row of desks where a number of Gryffindors, including Hermione Granger, were seated. They jumped away from him as quickly as they could. For several moments the class was in chaos before the teachers managed to regain control.

"As you can see," Professor McGonagall said once order was restored, "this man is an Animagus and the charm Professor Dumbledore demonstrated is called the Homorphus charm. It is used to force an Animagus to resume their human form. The Ministry of Magic keeps a record of all known Animagi in Britain and Ireland but, as you have just seen, not all Animagi register. To be an unregistered Animagus is a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of one year in Azkaban and a fine of up to 1000 Galleons. In the case of this animagus," she pointed to the unconscious man lying on the floor, "he will also be facing a number of more serious charges due to his previous history."

"For your information," Professor Dumbledore added, "this man is Peter Pettigrew, one of 13 people allegedly murdered by Sirius Black a little over 12 years ago."

"For homework tonight, I want two rolls of parchment on the correct use of the Homorphus charm including what it can and cannot be used for. Mr. Weasley, please stay behind. I wish to speak to you after class. The rest of you are dismissed," McGonagall finished.

Within minutes all the Weasley children were in the classroom; their teachers having been asked to release them at a specific time and to send them there. Dumbledore and McGonagall explained who Pettigrew was and what he had done. When they finished the Weasleys were sent into another room where their parents were waiting. Dumbledore had earlier told Arthur and Molly what was happening and had invited them to join the rest of their family so they could support each other.

With Pettigrew's capture and Sirius being found innocent of almost every charge (except being an unregistered animagus) the dementors were removed from the school. The next problem was ensuring Harry would stay with the Dursleys.

Dumbledore invited Harry to his office along with Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Severus took a middle ground point of view. Dumbledore assumed this may have been because Severus knew Petunia and didn't particularly like her or Sirius. There they had a somewhat tense discussion at the end of which it was decided Harry should spend one month with the Dursleys' and the rest of the holidays with Sirius.

Sirius turned to Harry. "I promise you now that, on your birthday, I will personally collect you from the Dursleys and take you to my family manor in London. Before that day will ensure I check on your welfare at least once a week with personal visit."

"All right," Harry replied. "I will hold you to that promise, Sirius."

From then until mid-June everything proceeded quietly with no untoward events. Unfortunately, the same day exams ended news came out that Pettigrew had escaped from Azkaban. At Fudge's insistence, and over Dumbledore's strong objections, the dementors returned to Hogwarts. It turned into a complete disaster; not only did the dementors fail to prevent Pettigrew from entering the castle and attacking two teachers but they themselves attacked two students. Dumbledore was surprised to hear Harry Potter had driven them away with a corporeal patronus thus saving the students. Harry had also alerted the Ministry and the staff to Pettigrew's presence but he managed to escape.

It soon became common knowledge that Professor Lupin was a werewolf and Lupin resigned the next day, Sirius Black helping him to pack and then escorting him away with minimal fuss. This was a disappointing way for the year to finish but it couldn't be avoided. Once again Dumbledore knew he would need a new DADA teacher.


End file.
